SCCC at 416 Preston Avenue, Thompson Falls, MT 59873 US - Our Churchs' History

St. James, Plains In 1884, St. Ignatius Mission received a request for a priest to attend a sick person in Plains. The priest also said Mass for six or seven people and baptized two youngsters. Several years later, Father Van Gorp, S.J., celebrated Plains' second Mass in a saloon. When he officiated at a wedding in 1888, the question of building a church came up. A subscription drive was started and M. W. Pierce constructed a small church. Father Jocquet, S.J., from St. Ignatius said the first Mass in it in June 1889 and Bishop Brondell dedicated St. James in October 1889. Priests from St. Ignatius held services monthly or bi-monthly. Bishop Brondell visited Plains again in 1892 for confirmation. That year a sacristy was added. Bishop Carroll installed secular priests in 1905, starting with Father Phelan. Successors included Fathers Daly; Lee; Morris, under whose direction a rectory was completed; and Casey, who stayed until 1915. In 1915, Father Donahue became pastor. During his tenure a new church was finished and dedicated in 1919. Father Frankl came in 1919 and finished the interior, and Father Faley cleared the debt. Father Mallady was pastor in 1930-1939 and Father William Curran in 1939-1955. Father Curran made many improvements and built a parish hall. In1941, he also directed improvements on Sacred Heart Church, Hot Springs, on of Plains' two missions. His successor, Father Patrick Brown, arranged for a new church in Thompson Falls, the other mission; St. William was dedicated in 1956 and became a parish in 1963. Father Brown built a new rectory in Plains in 1962. In 1957, parishioners in Hot Springs began work on a new church. Father M. Joe O'Donnell became pastor in 1963 and Father James R. DeGroat in 1966. Father John Hunthausen arrived in 1967, and directed remodeling at Sacred Heart. He was succeeded by Father James T. Ryan in 1970. Father William L. Waggenor, Pastor in 1972, had a former schoolhouse moved to Hot Springs for use as a parish hall. Father John P. Kerrigan was appointed pastor in 1982. He continued work on the Hot Springs church hall though an Extension Society grant and volunteer work. He also had St. James stained-glass windows repaired and protective covers installed. Substiquent pastors: Fr. Michael Smith; Fr. William Dornbos; Fr. Cyril Hunkler; Fr. John Hunthausen (Administrator); and Fr. Ken Fortney. St. William Parish, Thompson Falls There was a lovely Catholic Church in the Clark Fork area called St. James, in Plains, Montana. For many years St. James was the mother parish of its neighboring town, Thompson Falls. But then a pastor came to St. James parish named Father Patrick Brown. Father Brown was a far-sighted young man and he could see that Thompson Falls really did need a church building. So he started the ball rolling. Father Brown, as had pastors before him, had held Mass in the homes of members of the Catholic community in Thompson Falls. Before the church was built, Mass was said in the old Episcopal Church right next to the old Catholic Church. the old Catholic church is now the Masonic Temple. It was originally purchased from the Catholics by the school district and used as the music hall. When the decision to build a mission church in Thompson Falls was reached, Father Brown approached Norman LaFriniere who owned some lots and outbuildings and the house on the corner of Spruce and Preston streets. This was the site of the old Preston home and Preston's Livery Stable. Construction on the cement church building went well and the building was completed in December 1955 at a cost of $33,000. Part of the money for the church was donated from a grant from the Catholic Extension Society of America.. The church was dedicated on September 20, 1956, by Bishop Gilmore. Four priests presided: Fathers Patrick Brown, Bernard Sullivan, Amon O Sullivan and Robert McCarthy. Msgr. Dennis Mead, pastor of St. Anthony in Missoula, gave the sermon. The first wedding in the new church was that between Peggy Stobie and Larry McCarthy. The first baptism was that of Elizabeth Bemis Huff. Soon after the church was completed, Father Brown was able to have Thompson Falls made an independent parish. There were about 20 active families in the parish at that time. There is a story that the reason the parish was named St. William was because the bishop in charge of the Extension Society at the time was named William and he stipulated that the parish be named after him. Pastors: Fr. Patrick Brown; Fr. Sarsfield O Sullivan; Fr. William Gannon; Fr. William Waggoner (Administrator); Fr. M. J. Beemster; Fr. Bernard Sullivan; Fr. George Ferguson; Fr. Louis Geis (Administrator); Fr. Leo Proxell; Fr. Michael Smith; Fr. William Dornbos; Fr. Cyril Hunkler; Fr. Jack Hunthausen (Administrator); and Fr. Ken Fortney

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