St. Mary's in Petersville was the original Catholic Church for this part of Frederick County.

Catholic Church Road has seen almost two centuries of history. Families from as far away as the Pennsylvania border travelled this road to attend Mass at St. Mary's, at one time the only Catholic Church in the Middletown Valley. In the early years of the settlement of the Middletown Valley, Mass had been offered in homes by priests travelling from Conewago, near Hanover, Pa. Frederick Town and the entire surrounding Valley were without a resident priest from 1774 to 1796.

Thomas Sim Lee (born in Prince George's County, October 29, 1745) converted to the Catholic Church at about the time of his marriage in 1771 to Mary Digges of Mellwood Park. The Digges family were close friends of the Carrolls. After distinguished service in the American Revolution, Thomas Sim Lee was elected Governor of Maryland in 1779 and again in 1792. To promote the economy of Maryland, he was one of the initial subscribers to the Potomac Navigation Company, founded by George Washington, which preceded and laid the groundwork for the Chesapeak and Ohio Canal Company. In 1794 he was elected to the United States Senate.

Lee constantly begged Bishop (later Archbishop) John Carroll to send them a priest, nearly impossible because Bishop Carroll had only twenty-six priests with whom to serve the Catholics in all thirteen states. When Father Gallitzin was sent to be first pastor at Taneytown after his ordination in 1795, he also visited and served the people in the entire Valley. Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin was the son of the Prince Gallitzin who had been the Ambassador to the Netherlands representing Catherine the Great of Russia, a member of the highest ranking Russian nobility. Young Prince Demetrius Gallitzin had converted from Russian Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism in Europe. After completing his studies in Europe, he visited the United States on a tour of the New World. Here he saw mission territory in great need of priests, so he offered his services to Bishop John Carroll. The Prince completed his studies for ordination and was the first priest to receive all Sacred Orders in Baltimore.

When Governor Lee died in 1819, he left $2,000 to build and to support a Catholic church adjoining his estate in Frederick County, Needwood, in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and in memory of his wife.

One of Thomas Sim Lee's sons, John, married Harriet Carroll, granddaughter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He served briefly in Congress, but is better known for his pioneer work in developing the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

When the Jesuits became established at St. John's in Frederick, priests could visit the Valley more often. In 1825, Mr. West, a non-Catholic, donated land for a Catholic church which could be attended by his slaves, many of whom were Catholic, as were the slaves of the Lee family, whose estate, Needwood, immediately adjoined West's land. Thomas Sim Lee's bequest was used to build the first church of logs, the construction of which was supervised by Father John McElroy, S.J. (pastor of St. John's from 1822 to 1845).

The present church was built in 1842 and consecrated in 1845. The handmade bricks of which the Church is constructed were molded and fired by the slaves at Needwood. The columns within the church and the original porch columns (no longer there) were made of single tree trunks, smoothed, tapered and dressed by the same devoted slaves. The front elevation of the church is almost an exact reproduction, on a smaller scale, of the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore, which was designed by the great Federal architect, Benjamin Latrobe. Plaques within the church memorialize the members of the Lee family who contributed somuch to its building and furnishing. The cemetery contains many graves of the Bowers, Horsey, Lee and other prominent early Catholic families as well as the graves of the slaves whose dedication and talent contributed so much to the beauty of the church as well as to the beauty of the lush farmland of the valley.

St. Mary's church bell, cast in Troy, New York and now hung in front of the church, bears the date of 1870.

A priest from St. John's parish in Frederick offered Mass on the first Sunday of the month through 1879, then starting in 1880, on the first and third Sundays of the month. An attempt was made to start a parochial school, which lasted a few years in the 1870s, with 38 pupils in 1873, but the era of the school ended in 1879. However, the first resident pastor, Rev. John M. Barry (1893 to 1899) reinstituted the school, with a lay teacher. The school lasted, again with 38 students, until her marriage in 1899. During the pastorate of Father James O'Connell, in 1902 a school for "colored" children was started, which received aid from the annual Collection for Indians and Negroes, Blessed Katherine Drexel's work, until 1905 but it closed in 1910. In the 1930s Father William Kelly (1933 to 1937) taught in a school for Negro children where women of the Lee family taught writing and sewing.

BRUNSWICK, HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The town of Brunswick, located in southwestern Frederick County, on the north bank of the Potomac River, was built on a small part of the 3,100 acre grant from the King of England to John Hawkins of Prince George's County in 1753. He called it "Hawkins' Merry Peep-O-Day." A descendant of Hawkins conveyed 1550 acres of that tract to Thomas Gantt Sr. in 1766. In 1777 Gantt's son conveyed 201_ acres to Clement Holliday, who conveyed those acres in 1780 to Leonard Smith. In 1787 Leonard Smith established a small town, containing ninety-six lots, on part of that acreage. The town was called "Berlin."

By 1832 Berlin was large enough to be granted a Post Office. Since there was another Maryland town also called "Berlin," to avoid confusion this Berlin was renamed "Barry," but "Berlin" remained the popular name of the town and "Barry" was used only with reference to the Post Office. 1832 also was notable for the establishment of right-of-ways for both the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

The C and O Canal prospered and brought prosperity to Brunswick until a major flood in 1889 left the Canal "a total wreck." After the flood the Canal Company declared bankruptcy, was placed in the hands of receivers, and finally ceased operations in 1924.

The B and O railroad had reached Berlin at about the same time as the Canal, building its first depot in 1834, but it had little economic effect on the community until the B and O Railroad Company decided to relocate its freight yard from Martinsburg, West Virginia, to the "wide flat bottom" lands at Berlin, much more spacious and less expensive to buy than land near Martinsburg. To ensure that the town with the railroad yards would not be confused with the other Maryland town of "Berlin," the B and O Railroad Company insisted that the name be changed to "Brunswick," which was accomplished by an act of the Maryland legislature on April 8, 1890. which also incorporated the town, with a mayor and city council form of government, and established boundaries. The effect of locating the railroad yards at Berlin can be seen from these statistics: In 1890 Berlin's population was around 300; by 1910 it was over 5,000.

These population statistics provide the background from which we can understand the decision to locate a parish church in Brunswick even while St. Mary's Church in Petersville remained, and the sudden growth of population between 1894 and 1910 explains also why the original St. Francis Church was outgrown so soon.

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH, BRUNSWICK

In 1890 a small church was begun on Seventh Avenue in Brunswick by Fr. John M. Barry. Its cornerstone was laid by James, Cardinal Gibbons. It was completed in 1894.

From THE BRUNSWICK HERALD, Friday, August 24, 1894:

"Ceremonies at New Catholic Church - A number of distinguished clergymen present -
Monsignor Satolli lays the stone in the presence of a large audience. . . ."

"The corner stone of the new Catholic Church, which is in the course of erection in this town, was laid with appropriate ceremonies on Sunday afternoon. Several hundred people had assembled at the pretty site of New York Hill when the service began about 2 o'clock p.m.. . . . The dedicatory sermon was delivered by Rev. C. Gillespie, rector of St. Aloysius Church. . . .
"The laying of the stone was done by Monsignor Satolli, the Papal Delegate. . .
"The church has been named St. Francis in honor of Monsignor Satolli. . . . After it has been completed the Parishes of Petersville, Point of Rocks, and Brunswick will be united and a resident pastor will be stationed at Petersville, where there is a nice parsonage building near the church.
"The building itself will stand on the east side of 7th avenue and front on the park which lies across the avenue. The view from this point is one of the finest in the town. The only objection to the location is the almost inaccessibility from other parts of town.
"The church will be a neat frame edifice, of the latest modern design and convenience. 25 feet frontage with a depth of 50 feet, and having a seating capacity of about 300 persons. The total cost will be $2,500, a large portion of which has been already collected. the masonry work has been completed and was deon by Mr. Daniel Martin. The carpenter work is being done by Messrs. J. P. Karn & Bro. of this town.
"The lots upon which the building will stand were donated to the church by the Real Estate and Improvement Co. of Baltimore City.. . ."

The growing Catholic population of Brunswick and the frequency of accidents on the railroad caused Fr. James O'Connell to change his residence to Brunswick from the rectory at St. Mary's, which is now used for religious education. This growth made necessary a larger church complex, including a rectory, school and convent.

At the sale of J. J. Schenk, Mr. John Francis Smith of Frederick purchased for St. Francis Church the Seminary site. (From THE BRUNSWICK HERALD of March 26, 1906)

During the next few months, St. Francis School, opened ten years ago in the basement of the New York Hill Church to be moved to Brunswick Seminary property.. . . School to open in fall of 1906 at the new site.
Plan of improvement -- Seminary to be removed, Church removed from New York Hill to be placed on corner of First Avenue and First Street; new Rectory of 11 rooms to be erected. (From THE BRUNSWICK HERALD of April 20, 1906)

On June 7th, 1907, THE BRUNSWICK HERALD carried the news story of the dedication of the new St. Francis of Assisi Church on Sunday morning, June 2, 1907 aat 10:30 A.M., with the following items mentioned:

Building 42 x 60 feet; H. B. Funk was Contractor.
Present were: Rev. James O'Connell, pastor,
Msgr. Diomede Falconi, Apostolic Delegate,
Very Rev. Dennis J. Flynn, Pres. of Mt. St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg,et al.
Parochial School enrollment was 150 pupils.

The church bell, cast for the church on Seventh Avenue was moved to the present church and is now mounted beside the entrance, since the belfry was considered unsafe for the weight of the bell. It bears the following inscription:

Cast March 20th, 1895

From its opening in 1904 until 1910, St. Francis parochial school was operated by lay teachers, then Ursuline Sisters from Baltimore taught until the late 1920s. Four Sisters, who resided in a convent adjacent to the school, taught all twelve grades, each teaching three grades per classroom. By 1922 the school had an enrollment of 82 pupils -- 40 girls and 42 boys -- according to records in the archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In the late 1920s the Sisters left. Lay teachers continued to operate the school, offering grades one through eight, until the school closed its doors in 1938.

Pastors of St. Mary and St. Francis of Assisi Parish:

1893 - 1899 -- Rev. John M. Barry
1899 - 1900 -- Rev. Louis O'Donovan
1901 - 1918 -- Rev. James O'Connell
1918 - 1933 -- Rev. John J. Donlan
1933 - 1937 -- Rev. William E. Kelly
1937 - 1938 -- Rev. R. A. McGowan
1938 - 1942 -- Rev. Francis P. Ryan
1942 - 1944 -- Rev. M. J. Finnerty
1944 - 1946 -- Rev. A. C. Slade
1947 - 1959 -- Rev. Paul J. Dougherty
1959 - 1968 -- Rev. William T. McCrory
1968 - 1975 -- Rev. S. D. Melycher
1975 - 1994 -- Rev. Peter M. Hiltz
7/1/1994 - 2/23/1995 -- Rev. Patrick Carrion, Administrator
2/24/1995 - 5/31/2003 -- Rev. Lawrence J. Gesy
6/1/2003 - Present -- Rev. Mr. Lawrence Texeira, Pastoral Leader