History

In 1930 the cornerstone for a church/school combination was laid. It was the time of the Great Depression and it seems that construction was slow. The records show that weddings, baptisms, etc. didn’t take place in this structure until 1934. What are now the principal’s office and two classrooms on the middle level of the building was the housing for the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell. The priests lived at St. James and traveled back and forth.

In the 1950’s, St. Michael School had so many students that grades four to eight went into half-day sessions. There were many sisters available to teach in those days, but the convent was too small to hold them. In 1952 Father Begley started a campaign to raise the money needed to construct a new brick convent next to the church/school and behind the rectory.