St. Patrick's Catholic Church
About this property
St. Patrick's Catholic Church is a historic church at 380 Academy Hill Road in Newcastle, Maine. Built in 1807, it is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church building in New England, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It remains in use as a community within the Parish of All Saints in the Diocese of Portland. St. Patrick's Catholic Church stands in a rural setting a short way south of the village of Damariscotta Mills, on the west side of Academy Hill Road just south of its junction with Maine State Route 215. It is a rectangular brick building, bearing some stylistic resemblance to churches of the period in Virginia. It has a gabled roof, and a projecting square tower with the main entrance at its base, set in a segmented-arch opening. The next stage of the tower has a round window, with a belfry at the next stage that has round-arch louvered openings. A projecting cornice separates the belfry from the two-stage steeple, which is topped by a cross. Historic photos of the church show it with a hipped roof over the belfry instead of a steeple. The interior of the church retains original fixtures, including floors, pews, and altar. The church was built in 1807 and consecrated in 1808. Its construction was made possible by the efforts of two prominent local businessmen, both Irish immigrants. The parish was organized in 1796 by James Kavanagh and Matthew Cottrill, and first met without a priest in a wood-frame chapel. Kavanagh and Cottrill paid for construction of this edifice, which is built with brick made across the Damariscotta River and hauled across the frozen river in winter. Lime for its mortar was imported from Ireland. The church's design is attributed to Nicholas Codd, who also built the Gov. Edward Kavanaugh House in Damariscotta Mills and the Matthew Cottrill House in Damariscotta. It is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church in New England. Among the historical artifacts in the church are a bell cast by Paul Revere & Sons and the original altar that Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus used to consecrate the building. On July 1, 2009, the parish of St. Patrick was merged with five others to form All Saints Parish, as part of a reorganization plan promulgated in 2005. In 2013, the parish history group discovered that the building needed restoration. Parishioners and local donors raised approximately $320,000 to fix the roof, masonry, and windows. The project was completed in 2022. National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln County, Maine
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about St. Patrick's Catholic Church
This page lists St. Patrick's Catholic Church. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nearby Battles
Questions about this property
When was St. Patrick's Catholic Church listed on the National Register?
St. Patrick's Catholic Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 22, 1973.
What type of historic resource is St. Patrick's Catholic Church?
St. Patrick's Catholic Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for St. Patrick's Catholic Church?
The period of significance for St. Patrick's Catholic Church is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near St. Patrick's Catholic Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near St. Patrick's Catholic Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Lincoln County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Lincoln County.
Explore LincolnCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near St. Patrick's Catholic Church will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.