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History of The Church of St. Mary
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The 100+ year Catholic history of St. Mary's Parish has it's roots in the
missionary work accomplished with the Tulalip tribes and the early settlers in
the Marysville area. The religious and secular history of Marysville is
intertwined with James and Maria Comeford, for whom Marysville was named.
In 1886, three years before Washington became a state, the first Mass was
celebrated in the home of the Comefords.
In 1895, a parcel of land was acquired from Maria Comeford. The Catholic
people of Marysville, wanting a permanent place to worship, used their own labor
and talents to build a large, frame building at the corner of Fourth and Delta
streets, under the direction of Father Peter Dubbel. In 1901, Father Paul
Gard officially established St. Mary's Parish. There were nine Catholic
families in the new parish, totaling 27 people.
By the 1960s, the parish had outgrown the original building, and parishioners
began focusing on a new site. On December 11, 1966, groundbreaking took
place for our current facility, and St. Mary's was ready to begin serving the
500 parish families in September, 1967, from the new complex. At the
present time, there are more than 1,400 families in our parish.
As a parish community, we are proud of our rich history and our connections
to our early beginnings. The church's first bell, donated in 1907 by James
Comeford, is housed within a ground-level tower near the front entrance to the
church.
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