Originally posted 12/18/2009
Holy Trinity Catholic church, an unimposing little church downtown on 3rd St, has the distinction of being Evansville’s oldest Catholic parish. Originally the second oldest, it took that title from Assumption Church when it was torn down in 1965 for the Civic Center. But what most people may remember was the beautiful old church building that burned down in 1950.
With the boom of German immigrants into Evansville, Holy Trinity was the result of the need for a German-speaking parish (Assumption was English-speaking). The cornerstone was laid in 1849, but a cholera epidemic halted construction. The church was finally completed in 1851 and Holy Trinity parish was born.
The church occupied the entire half block of Third St between Court St (originally Division St) and Vine St. The gorgeous chuch with its tall spire was a downtown landmark. A huge school building was on the corner of Vine which for a time served as the Catholic high school (before Memorial was built).
A sister’s home was located behind the school fronting Vine St. A new rectory was built in 1912 on the corner of 3rd and Court which is still standing but hidden by the later addition of the education building
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Image courtesy of Donahue Studios
Image courtesy of Donahue Studios
Sadly, after standing for a century the church was struck by lightning Easter Sunday and burned down April 3, 1950. The blaze completely gutted the church as seen here in this photo from the Evansville Courier. Downtown lost one of its most prominent churches, and the city skyline was noticeably missing something. Mass was temporarily held in the school while the present Holy Trinity church was being built. When it burned, it was the oldest Catholic church in the city. While Trinity is still the oldest congregation, St Mary Catholic Church, built 1867, is now the oldest Catholic church building in town.
Holy Trinity Fire – Press article
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Holy Trinity Catholic Church on HistoricEvansville.com
http://www.historicevansville.com/site.php?id=holytrinity