Catholic Church

If you like this site and would like to donate any amount to help keep it up, please press this button. Thanks.

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church building was originally built to house the Bank of St. Marys in 1837-1838. The bank was officially incorporated on December 29, 1836. In March, 1843, the bank closed when it was moved to Columbus, Georgia. In 1847, the bank building was bought by Mrs. Marie Ponce Dufour and given to the Catholic Church as long as they wanted to use it as a church. At some time a steeple and bell were added and the small front yard was enclosed with a picket fence. During the Civil War, the rear of the church was burned. In 1867, Bishop Verot came to St. Marys and inspected the church building, but he decided that repairs would be too costly. So the Dufour family took reponsibility [sic]for the repairs on the building. In the 1950's, the bell and steeple were removed. Finally in 1977, the church was re-roofed and re-painted by members of Our Lady of the Sea Catholic Church. The church has not been used for several years.

[Handwritten note: “Oldest masonry bank building in Georgia. This was never a branch of the Bank of Darien has been reported.”

[All historical information is from the “1985 Historical Buildings Survey of Saint Marys, Georgia” by Eloise Bailey and Bruce Powell, July 1985]

Privacy Statement

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited