As early as 1823, a small church was built by the Dominican Fathers in Western Clayton Twp. of Perry County for the convenience of Catholics who, through lack of roads could not regularly attend St. Joseph's Church near Somerset.

The Church location was moved to Rehoboth in 1833 where a frame building was converted to a Church and dedicated to St. Louis Bertrand with a cemetery located nearby. In 1850 this church was abandoned and a new church with cemetery adjoining was built and dedicated to St. Domonic on Mcluney Hill near Crooksville, Rev. Mannes D Arco, O.P. was the first pastor. It was here that Fr. Frances Moitrier, Pastor in 1876, who was something of a genius in fine arts and mechanics, gave what was the first moving pictures in the history of Perry County. The gifted priest made his own slides and the entertainment was very popular.

In 1895 the St. Dominic's Church building was condemned by state authorities. A new slate roof proved to be too heavy for the brick walls, causing them to spread. There is also the story that the church was struck by lighting in 1896, at the suggestion of Bishop Watterson, Fr. Cahalan, then pastor of St. Dominic's opened a mission in the town of Crooksville, the logical place for the Catholic Church in this part of the County. What has been the old horse barn at Mcluney Hill was torn down and re-erected on South State St. in Crooksville. This building served as a temporary church until the new one was built. It is interesting to note that in 1897 Fr. Cahalan signed his report to the diocese as pastor of St. Dominic's Crooksville. The name of the church was later changed to St. Matthew and finally to the Church of Atonement.

A tract of land containing three and three-quarters acres on what was called the "Sand Hill" was donated for a church by a Mr. Burley and a Mr. Winter. This was apparently the land on which the remodeled barn was located. However, Mass was first celebrated in a house on Burley St. owned by a family named Carpenter, and which for a while, was used as a residence for the Priest, later a house was rented from Mr. Miller on Winter St. as a more suitable location for the rectory.

Before Fr. Cahalan was transferred to New Straitsville in 1898, he purchased in his own name two lots on the corner of Winter St. and Maple Ave. He later donated one to the diocese for a church in Crooksville and sold the other adjoining lot to be used as a parochial residence. Fr. Cahalan was succeeded by Fr. P.J. Maher and later by Fr. John Banks. Fr. Edmund C. Richards succeeded as pastor in 1900 of both Crooksville and Moxahala and began residing in Moxahala. For many years the priest in McCluney also took care of St. Pius V Church in South Fork (Moxahala) with the donation of Fr. Cahalan and a very generous donation by John Gossman Sr. , as well as other donations, Fr. Richards was able to begin plans for a church and rectory.

Fr. Richards was able to break ground for a new church in Crooksville in the spring of 1901. Bishop Henry Moeller laid the cornerstone on August 28, 1901. A history of the diocese states that Bishop Moeller dedicated the church on this day. A history of the town of Crooksville states that the Bishop dedicated the church on June 2nd, 1902, The rectory was build in 1902. The parish started with about 20 family units. Today, our records show about 160 family units with about 110 being active.

The new church was to be named St. Matthew. This name didn't last long because of a strained relationship between the Bishop and the parishioners of St. Dominic in McCunley who moved into the town in 1897. From a history report in the diocese the following is stated. "The title was changed to the Church of the Atonement in reparation for the dissension that arose among some of the parishioners because of the removal of the church from McCluney to Crooksville. "according to a poem written by a Mr. Jimmie Smith of McCluney, one reason Catholics didn't want to move to Crooksville was they couldn't find employment. One could infer that there was an anti-catholic sentiment in Crooksville at the time. According to a letter written to the director of the diocesan record society by a former pastor of the Church of the Atonement, the following is stated, another factor in the refusal of the St. Dominic people to come to Crooksville, according to the oral tradition in the parish, was the Irish character of the congregation at St. Dominic. They did not wish to mix with the predominantly Protestant town of Crooksville. This makes sense if there indeed the anti-catholic sentiment in the town. The Parishioners apparently stood up against the bishop and that is when the Bishop insisted that the church would be in Crooksville and when he changed the name to The Church of the Atonement. The name was given to them as a type of penance for their stubbornness. 

It is said that bricks from the Tague farm were used to build the church. Bricks from the old St. Dominic's were used as fillers bricks. The church was enlarged sometime between 1926 - 1929 by Fr. John Diegelman. The present sanctuary and sacristy were added on at that time. A new furnace was installed in the rectory in 1948 and the church in 1949 while Fr. Joseph Hakel was the pastor. Fr. William Stecker remodeled the rectory between 1948 - 1952. Fr. Andrew Hohman redecorated the inside of the church and installed a new altar as well as new carved wooden statues from Switzerland in 1956. Fr. Patrick Hannon bought two properties next to the rectory making one of them the present rectory. The old rectory was then used for religious education classes and parish meetings. The other property was rented until was vacated in 1990. The house on this property was raised during the summer of 1991. Fr. Jack Dreese painted the inside of the church in 1984. He also did some renovation work in the sanctuary, had the pews refinished, new storm vent windows installed and the church bricks pointed. Fr. Gwinner had a sign installed in front of the church in 1990 as well as many outside repairs were done. During the summer of 1991, Fr. Ghiloni had the original slate roof, ninety years old replaced with a forty year shingle roof. A drainage system was put in around the church during the fall of 1991, an attempt to correct the water problem in the church basement.

The Old Rectory (White House) was torn down around 2005 along with an old garage on the property. There was a divide between parishioners and a parish vote was taken, with the tear down the white house winning over save the white house. The ground where the old rectory was has been turned into a parking lot and the parish added a new one car garage to replace the old garage that was torn down.

The first pastors to serve the Crooksville area were Dominicans who rode the circuit from St. Barnabus Church in Deavertown to old Straitsville. Pastors who served Crooksville since the Church has been in town are Fr. John Cahalan 1897-1898 Fr. P.J. Maher and Fr. John Banks 1898 - 1899 Fr. E.C. Richards 1899 - 1906 Fr. B.J. Mattes 1906 - 1918 Fr. William M. Sullivan 1918 Fr. William O' Brien 1918 - 1926 Fr. John Diegelman 1926 - 1931 Fr. Leonard Falvey 1931 - 1945 Fr. Joseph Hakel 1945 - 1948 Fr. William Stecker 1948 - 1952 Fr. Andrew Hohman 1952 - 1958 Fr. Paul W. Meyer 1958 - 1963 Fr. Joseph Switalski 1963 - 1966 Fr. William Patterson 1966 - 1971 Fr. George Marzluf 1971 - 1973 Fr. Ronald Arter 1973 - 1976 Fr. Patrich Hannon 1977 - 1982 Fr. John Dreese 1982 - 1989 Fr. David Gwinner 1989 - 1990 Fr. Mark Ghiloni 1990 Fr. John Fulcher, Fr. Francis Staton, Fr. Robert E. Willman, Fr. William Maroon, Fr. James Csaszar, Fr. Paul Noble 2017, Fr. Cyrus M. Haddad 2017-18   Parochial Vicar Fr. Daniel Swartz 2018-19 and Rev. Fr. Michael Hartge 2018 -2020, Current Priest - Fr. Chris Yakkel Parochial Vicar, Pastor Fr. Todd Lehigh.

The Parish has given eight Daughters and three sons to the religious life. Their names and dates of religious profession and ordinations are as follow: Sr. M. Ida Longstreth O.S.F. and Sr. M. Angela  McNuty O.I.M. August 15, 1913 Sr. M. Rose Bennett O.S.F. February 7, 1923 Sr. Francis Xavier Mooney O.P. January,  1927 Sr. Bernarda Harbaugh, Ursuline August 9, 1928 Sr. M Bernadell Trischel O.S.F. August 15, 1932  Sr. M Vincent de Paul Napier O.P. August 14, 1934 Sr. M. Leonardine Cosgrave O.S.F. August 15, 1937 Fr. Anthony Tague May 21, 1921, Fr. Fabin Frecker O.S.B. June 14, 1936.

The parish presently has over 200 people attending Mass on Sunday. A number of very dedicated people serve on the liturgy committee, maintenance committee, social committee, in the choir and in various other liturgical ministries. The parish has a very dedicated group of religious teachers. Sisters from Zanesville and later from Corning used to teach religion here but our own lay people have been doing it for years and have done a fine job. We presently have about seventy-five children in the religious education program. There are also adult education opportunities provided. Sr. Mary Ellen Johnson S.C.N. is the first religious to live in Crooksville, moving here in the summer of 1991. Sister helps with religious education in a number of the surrounding parishes.

Shortly after the church moved from McCluney to Crooksville, there was a need for a parish cemetery. Mr. John Gossman donated almost four acres of his farm to the church for a cemetery in 1912. The cemetery, given the name of St. Joseph was laid out in a circle with the focal point being a large wooden cross resting on a large mound. The cross can be seen from all parts of the cemetery and all graves face toward the cross. An amount of $1.00 was paid to Mr. Gossman by the diocese for use of the land. The beautiful and well-kept cemetery is about 1.5 miles from the parish church. it is overseen by a board of dedicated parishioners and maintain by volunteer help from the parish.

The first person buried in the cemetery was Suzanne Gossman, wife of John Gossman. Two priest sons of the parish are also buried in the cemetery, Fr. Anthony Tague and Fr. Herman Tague. As of the writing of this history, there are many grave sites still available.

The Parish of the Church of the Atonement closed for good on October 21, 2023 by Bishop Frenades. Reason for the closing is lack of Parish Preist. Members of the Parish have moved onto St. Rose, St. Thomas and St. Nicks.


Still working on getting the history to present day!

 

History of St. Rose of Lima Parish

The Catholics living in New Lexington in the town formative years displayed a tremendous amount of faith as they traveled many miles to neighboring communities to receive the sacraments.

It was 50 years before a local congregation was formed in 1867, but by then the faith was firmly planted in the founding families that St. Rose of Lima Parish still reaps the fruits of these early devotions.

St. Rose of Lima had its beginning when Mass was offered in the homes of the faithful in New Lexington by the first Pastor Fr. Leo Adams O.P. the parish was founded September 2, 1867, by Dominican Fathers of St. Joseph Priory near Somerset. For a year or more Mass was said every two weeks in private homes in New Lexington more than likely in the home of Doctor Taggart, who was locally famous as a benefactor, the congregation numbered 15 families.

Prior to that time, the Catholics of the village worshipped at distant churches. New Lexington had been founded in 1817 and the earliest churches were the Methodist, Baptist, and Lutheran. With no local church, the Catholics traveled by horse and buggy, on horseback and by foot, if necessary to St. Joseph Priory, in 1825 to a log cabin church, St Patrick's near Rehoboth. A few attended St. Patrick's in Junction City and others St. Pius V at Salt Folk near Moxahala, later they went again to Rehoboth to St. Louis Bertrand Church.

Then came the long-awaited founding of a local parish, the principal founding families were Cody, Elder, Fealty, Flood, Forquer, Jackson, Macklin, McShane, Meean, Sheeran, and Smith.

Early in 1868, two lots with a brick building on the corner of Main and Water Streets were purchase from Samuel Koonts. The partitions of the building were removed and it was used as a church until 1880, the Dominican Fathers served the mission church until 1873 when most of their parishes in Perry County were given to the recently organized Diocese of Columbus. Among the Dominican Fathers who served at St. Rose were Fr. Leo Adams, Fr. John H. Lynch, Fr. John D. Sheehy, Fr. Patrick V. Koogh, Fr. A.V. Higgins and Fr. H.F. Lilly.

January of 1873, Bishop Sylvester H. Rosecrans appointed Fr. Francis Moitrier to take charge of St. Rose Parish. Fr. Moitrier at the time was living at St. Aloysius Academy a mile west of New Lexington and was supervising the founding of the academy, he remained in residence at St. Al and provided services for the parishioners of St. Rose until 1876.

The first resident pastor, Fr. Philip Meschenmoser an exiled German Jesuit arrived in April of 1876, he built the rectory and the present St. Rose Church in 1880. Bishop John A. Watterson dedicated the church on September 4th, 1881 the same day the Bishop confirm a class of 75 children and adults as well as girls from St. Al Academy. Fr. Meschenmoser did heroic work in organizing his small parish, he was promoted to Zanesville in 1885.

A memorable event took place on September 12, 1884, when Januarius MacGahan the liberator of Bulgaria was buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Bishop Watterson presided at the funeral mass in St. Rose church. Eight thousand people attended the funeral services and burial, MacGahan a native of the New Lexington area was called the liberator of Bulgaria because the news dispatches he wrote for his New York paper about the conditions in Bulgaria were credited by many with bringing about the freeing of the people from oppressors. The local Knights of Columbus council 1065 are named after Januarius MacGahan (MacGahan Council).

Fr. Patrick M. Heery followed Fr. Meschenmoser as pastor, during his administration the heavy church debt was paid in full. The church tower and steeple were completed and the magnificent bell which peals over the valley from its spire at the top of the hill was installed. Fr. Heery remained until February of 1895. He was succeeded by Fr. Richard Fitzgerald who was the pastor until 1897. Fr. Fitzgerald was in poor health when he was appointed to St. Rose and resigned early in 1897.

Fr. Austin Cush was named pastor by Bishop Watterson immediately following Fr. Fitzgerald resignation and remained at St. Rose for 45 years, until his passing on April 23, 1942.

When Fr. Cush arrived at St. Rose, he found a congregation of 90 families. Under his administration, the number grew to 230 families and around 1200 members. By 1917 when the Golden Jubilee was celebrated. 

The Rectory was improved in 1898 at a cost of $2,500.00 on Feb. 3rd, 1902 fire broke out in the sacristy and caused damages amounting to $2000.00. Repairs and improvements to the church cost $10,000.00. An addition of 30 feet was made to the rear of the church and the entire interior of the church was renovated. The present pipe organ was installed in 1908 at a cost of $2,000.00. 

During these times the county was having an economic boom, situated in the center of the economic boom was New Lexington the County seat, many prominent names in the Perry County business, industry and government were also on the rolls of St. Rose Parish as Catholics joined in guiding the community forward.

On September 2, 1917, the Golden Jubilee of St. Rose parish was celebrated with great solemnity. The feature of this celebration was the payment in full of the parish debt of $7,000.00. For 70 days before the jubilee, a $100.00 campaign was held and aroused so much enthusiasm that the entire debt was paid by September 2. St. Rose continued to flourish until World war II when work decreased and the parish suffered a sharp decline in numbers due to the absence of many young men who were in the United States Armed Forces.

Fr. Cush was the pastor through this changing period, in his declining years, he was assisted by Fr. Francis B. Tuoey, De Sales Dwerlkotte, T.O.R., Patrick F. Ruane, Andrew B. Zamborsky, Carl L. Heilman, Vincent G. Schiele, Joseph F. Finan and James Foley. Fr. Schiele, Finan, and Foley acted as administrators from 1936 to 1945. Father Cush died on April 23, 1942, greatly mourned by the members of the parish which he had served so faithfully for 45 years.

Fr. James Foley remained as administrator of St. Rose Parish until March 15th, 1945, when Fr. Maurice J. Donovan was appointed pastor by Bishop Michael J. Ready. On September 5th, 1948 Bishop Ready celebrated Solemn Pontifical Mass and conducted a memorial service for Fr. Cush. In the afternoon a large stone Crucifixion group was dedicated in Maplewood Cemetery as a memorial of the affection and gratitude of the parish to the memory of Fr. Austin A. Cush.

Fr. Donovan was assisted by the chaplains at St. Aloysius Academy from 1945 - 1947. Among them was Fr. Michael A. Nugent, John Sughrue, Leo O'Connor, J.B. Krajovic, John W. Kerrigan and Elmer Boyden.

Fr. James Kulp was appointed assistant on November 8th, 1946 and during his stay, he rebuilt the altars which had originally been constructed by his grandfather. He was succeeded as an assistant on March 11, 1948, by Fr. Richard F. Dodd. Fr. Dodd was especially noted for his excellent work among the youth and for fostering vocations to the priesthood. 

The exterior of the church was painted and many repairs were made during 1946 at a cost over $7,000. Many repairs to the school in 1947 at a cost over $2,500.

The congregation of St. Rose was treated to something new in sacred music on Christmas of 1948 when the newly organized all-boys Sanctuary Choir sang in the church for the first time. Fr. Donovan celebrated his Silver Jubilee of Ordination to the Priesthood in May of 1950. Bishop Ready presided at the Mass and preached the sermon.

The years 1950 and 1951 marked public proclamations of faith by members of the congregation. On November 1, 1950, a great procession and festival were held honoring the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The following year, Holy year pilgrimages were made by the parish to St. Joseph, St. Patrick, Holy Trinity, and St. Rose churches.

A new roof and spouting were placed on the church and new pews installed in 1951, all at a cost of $12,000. In 1952, the school cafeteria was renovated with the cost of $4,800. From 1953 to 1958, the rectory was remodeled and redecorated at a cost of $9,000. During these years many repairs were made to the church including the steeple and stained glass windows. A new furnace was installed in the school in 1957. 

Father Donovan was appointed Dean of the Eastern Deanery by Bishop Ready on July 14, 1955. In September of 1956, St. Rose Parish was entrusted with the administration of St. Pius Mission at Moxahala.

On June 30, 1959, Fr. Donovan was appointed pastor of Holy Name Parish in Columbus by Bishop Clarence J Issenmann. During his 14 years at St. Rose, Fr. Donovan was assisted by Fr. James W Kulp, Richard F Dodd, Charles W Jones, William J Mcewan, Patrick J Byrne and Charles J Foeller.

Bishop Issenmann in January of 1963 announced appointment of Fr. Donovan as Domestic Prelate by Pope John XXIII with the title of Right Reverend Monsignor

More Coming soon!