As the oldest Catholic church in Daviess County, St. Lawrence in Knottsville is celebrating its bicentennial today. The celebration will begin with Mass at noon with The Rev. Bishop William Medley presiding, followed by a barbecue lunch and music at the church’s picnic grounds.
In 1822, Father Charles Nerinckx offered the first Catholic Mass in the county for members of the parish at the home of Ezekiel and Elizabeth Henning. Before 1822, the early settlers depended on circuit rider missionaries who traveled the country to offer Mass and sacraments.
Often referred to as the patriarch of the frontier, Father Elicia Durbin was assigned to the area in 1824, serving settlers from Nelson County to Eastern Illinois. He had a lean-to structure constructed to provide the community with a place for him to say Mass and lay his head.
Four years later, the community erected a log church off present-day KY 144 when William Griffith and Benjamin Field donated 200 acres to the church and 160 to the Diocese of Bardstown. Griffith and Field were from Yellowbanks, now referred to as Owensboro.
Under the leadership of the first full-time pastor, Father John Wathen, the parish raised the first brick church in 1833. The bishop visited just a few short years later and experienced the exponential growth first-hand; expansion was imminent.
By the 1870s, the structure began to deteriorate, and Wathen and company decided it was time to erect a new facility. They completed the current church at the cost of $10,000 and offered the first Mass debt-free on Feb.11, 1872.
The parish also constructed a rectory, using the first floor as a home for the priest and the top floor as a boarding school for boys. Documentation shows families often paid for tuition with tangible items like beef, vegetables, and even candlesticks.
While the schools struggled to remain open at times, education remained a primary focus for St. Lawrence, opening a new school in 1881. With no money to support the Franciscan nuns who were teaching, the school closed a decade later.
The 1920s saw the parish open a parochial school, and by 1925, many local public schools closed because of the influx of students attending Catholic schools. Many nuns and community members dedicated their time and efforts to keep the school afloat.
A fire took the school in 1960, forcing students to attend St. Williams a few miles down the road. In 1966 St. Mary of the Woods in Whitesville and St. Williams and St. Lawrence in Knottsville combined to form the Trinity High School that still operates today.
St. Lawrence continues to fund Mary Carrico, which offers a Catholic education in Knottsville for pre-K through 8th-grade students.
The present church structure has undergone four major renovations, including adding a parish hall in 1980.
Stories passed down from generation to generation detail a long history of church picnics and the introduction of mutton and burgoo from Irish settlers. Churchgoers say the first documented picnic in the local paper was 1883. Newspaper archives from the 1930s indicate people would travel by the thousands via a bus schedule from surrounding communities to attend the picnics.
“This is a historical church, and we have many families that help to maintain it,” said archivist and event organizer Pam Higdon. “Many generations of families have been a part of the parish since its conception.”
Father Shijo Vadakumkara is the current priest and will accompany the bishop to the ceremonies. Aug. 10 marked the feast day of St. Lawrence, so organizers marked Aug. 14 as the perfect day for the homecoming and bicentennial festivities.
