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History
of Saint Gall Catholic Church
Our Beginnings...
The Catholic Church had its beginning in Carson
Valley in 1858, with one pastor serving Virginia City, Genoa and Carson
City. By 1865, churches had been constructed in all three communities;
however, in the late 1800's, the church in Genoa was destroyed by fire and
our religious community had to meet in various halls throughout the valley.
In 1917, about thirty families began working towards
building a church of their own. Land was donated for the site and
after raising $7,000, parishioners started construction, donating most of
the labor involved.
On June 22, 1919, with Bishop Thomas Grace presiding,
our church was dedicated to St. Gall. We were considered a "mission"
church of St. Teresa and it wasn't until January of 1940 that we were
truly established as an individual parish with our own pastor.
By the late 1950's our parish had grown to
approximately sixty families and our first rectory was acquired. In
1958, Sisters of the Holy Family came to teach catechism, and also started a
kindergarten for peoples of all faiths. They continued to serve this
public need until the public schools established their own years later.
The residence on Douglas was purchased for a convent
and a building was moved from the Buckeye Ranch and situated next door to be
used as a school and parish hall. The convent was converted to serve
as our rectory when the sisters left our community.
In April of 1979, a fire gutted the inside of our
church and during the restoration process, the confessionals and choir loft
were eliminated in order that additional seating space could be provided for
our ever growing St. Gall family.
A New
Era Begins...
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continue)
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