Early History of St. Clement’s Parish

In the late 1800’s there were approximately six Catholic families in the Lansdowne area who had to use their own horse and buggy to attend Sunday Mass at St. Jerome’s Church in Baltimore. Because they found transportation difficult, they approached the pastor of St. Jerome’s, Rev. James P. Holden, to see whether it was possible to have a mission church established in Lansdowne. During that time the priests from St. Jerome’s traveled by horse to the Catholic families as far west as Halethorpe and Elkridge to bring the sacraments. However, in those days a horse was considered a luxury item. Most of the time, the priests walked to their destination. After some negotiation, Father Holden was successful in getting a 100’ x 200’ building lot, a donation from the Lansdowne Building Lot Company for the construction of a Church. (The present site of the Church and Rectory marks the location of the first church.) The corner stone for the red brick church was laid in the spring of 1891 and was completed about the middle of June in that year. (Site creator’s observation: when you hover over the image of the church above, the fire hydrant is in exactly the same place as present day) From the parish records we find the following article describing the cornerstone ceremonies:

A New Catholic Church at Lansdowne 1891 The Ceremonies

The cornerstone of the new Catholic Church at Lansdowne was laid yesterday afternoon with impressive ceremony. A large train left Camden Station at 2 P.M., bearing a number of Catholic organizations and others to Lansdowne. Headed by Bockman Brothers Band, John P. Hoffman leader, the organizations marched from the station to the new church, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. The following organizations were in line: Sts. Cyril and Methodius of St. Stanislaus Koska Church, Anton Literski commanding eighty men; Branch No. 6 St. Jerome’s Beneficial Society, Arthur J. Kirwin commanding eighty men, assisted by James O. Grady; Monsignor McManus’ Lyceum, Francis P. Kelly commanding thirty men; Knights of St. Adelbert, John J. Matni commanding fifty men; St. Joseph’s Society, Lawrence Stofanski commanding one hundred men. All the organizations were arrayed in their finest accoutrements; and, among the bright banner flying over them, the most beautiful perhaps was the American flag. The clergy, choir, sanctuary boys, acolytes and other attendants were in a cottage near the new church when the train arrived. They were escorted to the church by the cavalcade. Rev. James P. Holden, pastor of St. Jerome’s Church, assumed the place of dignity in the procession, the last in line. He wore a gold-colored cope.

The other clergymen in line were Rev. Thomas J. Broydrick, pastor of St. Martin’s; Rev. Joseph L. Barry, pastor of St. Joseph’s; Rev. Charles Darner, pastor of the Church of the Holy Cross; Rev. Peter Chowanice, pastor of Holy Rosary Church; Rev. Joseph Skretpy, assistant pastor of St. Stanislaus and Rev. J. Powers of Chicago. The cornerstone was laid by Father Holden. Father Broydrick made an address in English and Father Darner in German. The choir was composed of choir members from St. Jerome and the Cathedral, Mr. John Veight directing. The committee of arrangements was composed of John P. Ruth, chairman, John Eichelman, assistant chairman, Ulrich Mueller, Martin Doetzer, Sebastian Schaub, George Ochs, John Heffner, J. Himmer, William J. Gratendieck, F. Blank, J. Dockman and James Gehring. Monsignor McColgan was to have laid the stone in the absence of Cardinal Gibbons but was unable to be present on account of feeble health. Between two and three thousand persons were present at the ceremony. Mr. C. David Lukins, president of the Lansdowne Building Lot Company, distributed one thousand free tickets at Camden Station. Many persons from the country around drove to the church. Sergeant Ryan of the Central District and a squad of policemen were detailed to preserve order, but this was an unnecessary precaution as perfect order prevailed.

The ground upon which the new church is being built has a frontage of 100 feet and a depth of 200 feet and was donated by the Lansdowne Building Lot Company. The church will be thirty feet across and sixty feet deep and, when completed, will contain seats for three hundred persons. The super-structure will be brick resting on a stone foundation. It will cost about $4,000. Mr. Lukins assisted in raising subscriptions to the amount of $1,200 toward paying for the church. The church will be completed about the middle of June. Mr. Robert C. Boone of Hampden was the contractor for the masonry and Messrs. Muroney & Kalb are the builders. In a box in the cornerstone will be placed a copy of today’s American and some coins.

Because St. Clement’s was a Mission of St. Jerome’s, Father Holden and Father Knell, his assistant, had to be transported by the parishioners to and from the Church each Sunday. A few sisters from St. Jerome’s also came each Sunday to teach Sunday school lessons to the children. Later, sisters from St. Agnes Hospital were brought to teach catechism classes and following them the newly formed Mission Helper Sisters took up this vital task. The first Pastor, Rev. Michael P. Sullivan, was appointed in 1895. His rectory was a small house standing where the present convent is located. Little is know about the early history of the parish. On February 9, 1918 a fire, believed to have been started by an overheated stove, destroyed the records and the rectory. After the fire Father Sullivan purchased another house which was located at the corner of First and Washington Avenues, now a fenced grass plot. He did not enjoy his new residence very long because on October 17, 1918 he died. The fire and the death of Father Sullivan marked 1918 as an eventful year in the early days of the parish.

After Father Sullivan’s death, Father Elbert was sent from St. Mary’s Seminary of Paca Street and served as administrator until he was later appointed Pastor. Father Elbert was transferred and replaced by a Father Flemming who too was soon transferred and replaced by Rev. Patrick Joseph Kenny in 1922. In four years, there were four pastors, a time of unsettling changes at St. Clement’s.

Father Kenny (Site creator’s note: this was the first Father Kenny) was remembered as a dynamic individual largely responsible for the beginning of St. Clement’s School. In 1924 he sought the help of the Sisters of Providence. Later, three Sisters of Providence from the Washington, D.C. area visited St. Clement’s with the intention of establishing another school for their order in the cast. They consented to establish a parish school and immediately eight women in the parish formed a School Society. They were instrumental along with Father Kenny in getting the funds together for a school. Baltimore County owned a one room school house on the site of the present parking lot and at about this time the county government was building a larger, modern school necessitated by the increase in the population of the area. Fortunately, Father Kenny was able to negotiate a good price for this old school; and through the work of parishioners who were carpenters, the wooden structure was expanded. Also, Father Kenny purchased a home for the sisters located on the land where the present school buildings stand. The chapel for the sisters was completed on September 8, 1927 when the sisters celebrated their first Mass at home. When the school opened on September 13, 1927, there were 146 pupils registered with grades one through eight. Since the staff consisted of only four teaching sisters and one music teacher, there were two grades to each class room. The first Superior-principal was Sister St. Cyrilla.

Sometime during the early years of the school, it was remembered that Father Kenny received threats from the local Ku Klux Klan for some unknown reason. They claimed that they would burn down the school. It was reported that Father Kenny told the Klan leaders that he was not concerned about the threat because the property was well insured and that the Church would receive a large amount of money if they carried out their intention. As a result, the K.K.K. left this property alone; however, they did burn a few crosses in the area. Father Kenny later told parishioners that the school was not insured, that his remarks were only a ploy to counter the Klan.

Father Kenny is also remembered for his excellent sermons. He traveled to Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Virginia on speaking engagements to earn money for the parish. He also made arrangements with the B & O to bring people from Halethorpe and Relay to Lansdowne for Mass. Father Kenny moved into another house on First Avenue where his sister, Sarah, assisted him as housekeeper.

During the early years the social events of the parish were held at Havercorn’s Hall which was located across from the Lansdowne Inn on Hammonds Ferry Road. It was remembered that a Miss Warnner visited all of the houses in the parish to ask for donations and help for the social events. These events were popular and well attended, and much money was raised for the church and school. Later in the 1920’s the parish set up a dancing pavilion on the site of the present church hall. At first the pavilion was simply a platform with a railing around it. For the dances an orchestra was hired, and the charge was 10 cents a dance. To provide for events during the cold weather months, parishioners added a roof and walls to the pavilion and a large hole was dug in the foundation for a heating unit. Parishioners did all the work. Soon after the completion of this project, their zeal and talent resulted in another structure, a garage for the pastor’s car on the site of the present convent. This garage served a dual purpose because it also functioned as a kitchen for parish dinners. It was remembered that during the early days of the parish sour beef dinners were popular and served in two styles.