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           Saint Ann Catholic Church in Morgan County

100 Years and More.
 

            
            The history of the formation and development of Saint Ann church in Lancing, Tennessee begins with the story of Catholicism throughout Morgan County. Original sources are difficult to track and often disagree. A further complication is that the Catholic population waxed and waned so the efforts made to address their spiritual needs did the same. However, what can be known with reasonable certainty provides a colorful insight into plateau culture.

The first Catholic emigrants to settle in Morgan County came in the 1840’s. They were primarily German and tended to settle in the Wartburg area which had a substantial German population. Later emigrants from Poland arrived. Most settled in the industrialized North at first but longed to return to an agricultural way of life. Often they came to Morgan County in groups, responding to periodic promotions for cheap farmland and a healthy environment. These Polish immigrants favored the area that would later become Deer Lodge.

Sources suggest that by 1847 there was a large enough congregation of Catholics in the Deer Lodge area for a Father Barlow to build a chapel. Another source states that in 1850 Bishop Miles sent Franciscan Father Edmund Etschman to build a small chapel in Wartburg for a new group of Catholics from Germany. The mission was closed a year later, perhaps because the Catholics in the area departed.

Around 1860 settlers began to arrive in the Triplett Gap area of Morgan County. With more settlers, the area prospered and became known as Kismet. When the railroad was built in 1894 the name of this thriving metropolis was changed to Lancing.

At one time the building of a monastery was begun in the city of Wartburg just prior to the outbreak of the civil war. The war interrupted construction which was never resumed.  The foundation of the structure was discovered on the lot where the old Schubert Funeral Home was built.

This incident speaks to the ravages suffered by the people of Morgan County during the war. In a county wide referendum on the issue of session in June of 1861 the vote to remain in the union predominated by a 1 to 10 margin. When the state of Tennessee seceded, Morgan County was a land divided. Due to its geographic location, on the very northern edge of the Confederacy, it served as a thoroughfare for both Union and Confederate forces.

In March of 1884 Mr. Abner L. Ross purchased 600 acres for the purpose of establishing the town of Deer Lodge. He was primarily in the hotel business but was best known for his close association with the Harper’s Ferry abolitionist John Brown. He was a very keen business man and promoted the town far and wide. He described the area as the “healthiest place on earth.” Advertising described Deer Lodge as “the natural sanitarium of America,” and “the invalid’s paradise.” He established a newspaper; The Southern Enterprise, and the Mountain View Hotel. Within a short while the town had a population of 400. For the next 20 years Deer Lodge prospered.

Doctor Ostrowski moved from Chicago to Deer Lodge in 1899. On his recommendation a number of his patients did the same. Among those following Doctor Ostrowski were his close friends and fellow Polish immigrants Theresa and Edmund Koszutski. Mrs. Koszutski was in poor health at the time and was scheduled for an operation but the couple moved to the Deer Lodge area and started farming instead. Mrs. Koszutski’s health was restored and she lived for many more years. The daughter of Theresa and Edmund Koszutski was born in Deer Lodge in 1912. Felicia Irene Koszutski Wojtasiak was a member of Saint Ann parish at the time of her death in 1994.

It was Theresa and Edmund Koszutski who invited a priest from Chicago, Father Maczynski, to visit them and celebrate the first Mass of record in Deer Lodge proper in 1905. This celebration of Mass in the Koszutski home can be said to have resulted in the establishment of a formal Catholic community in Deer Lodge.

In 1900 the Knoxville priest Father Emmanuel Francis Callahan was given responsibility for the Catholic missions throughout east Tennessee. Bishop Byrne, of the Diocese of Nashville, which covered the entire state, had chosen the strategically located city of Harriman, in Roane County, as a center for mission work covering a 34 county area which included Morgan County.

Throughout the early 1900’s there was a surge of immigrants to Deer Lodge and the Stowers area. Soon there was between 250 and 300 eastern European immigrants living in the county at that time. This resulted in a certain degree of animosity on the part of some of the longer-time residents. The fact that many of them were fervently Catholic added to the tension.

Father Callahan rode his horse Rebel to visit his far flung missions but when visiting Morgan County, he would often take the train to Sunbright where Mr. Koszutski would meet him with horse and buggy. Father Callahan would use their home as a base and their horse and buggy for his excursions throughout the reign which could last a month at a time. Mr. Koszutski remarked that over the seven years of Father Callahan’s visits he wore out three buggies.

Father Callahan would visit the homes of parishioners where their Catholic neighbors would gather. Often he would visit the home of Martin Lyons at Lancing. Word would be spread to all the Catholics in the area who would gather at Mr. Lyons’ for catechism and the celebration of the sacraments.

Under the direction of Father Callahan, a Catholic church was built in Deer Lodge in 1908. Every catholic family helped with the construction. This church mysteriously burned in 1910. The faithful returned to celebrating the sacraments in their homes. It is possible this church and previous churches were destroyed before they could be formally dedicated as there is no record of any of the churches having been named.

This was to be rectified when a new church was built in 1913 under the direction of the newly assigned pastor Father Patrick McGuire. Upon its completion, Bishop Byrne delegated the pastor to celebrate a formal consecration of the church on October 26th. with the church being dedicated to the patronage of Saint Ann, mother of Blessed Mary. This church mysteriously burned nine months later. Once again the Catholic faithful returned to their homes for the celebration of the sacraments. However, they understood that as a faith community they were aided by the intercessory prayers of good Saint Ann.

As the Catholic population continued to grow, it is possible that the faithful of Saint Ann parish attempted to establish other places to worship. Mr. Brian Lee Stagg, in his book Deer Lodge, Tennessee - Its Little-Known History writes: “One of the (Catholic) churches was burned around 1924 by the Ku Klux Klan.” Records in the diocesan archives are silent except for two cryptic notations. One reads: “October 1926 - Church at Deer Lodge burned again.” The second is almost identical to it: “October 1929 - Church at Deer Lodge again burned.” The Catholic faithful might have thought it best to rent space in an existing structure. A fire at a temporary location may well have garnered these brief notations.

What is known certainly is that Bishop Alphonse J. Smith directed that another Saint Ann Church be built in Deer Lodge. This time he insisted that, to the degree possible, it be built of fire resistant materials to protect it from destruction. The church floor and walls were made of concrete with a brick exterior. Even the altar was made of concrete. The structure consisted of nave and a small sacristy behind the altar. The width of the church did not allow for anything more than a narrow center aisle. The pews touched the side walls. The new Saint Ann Church was consecrated on Sunday July 20, 1930. The mission’s new pastor, Father F. W. Strang was delegated by Bishop Smith to conduct the ceremony in his stead. For many years the parish retained the old-country tradition of seating the men on one side of the nave and the women on the other.
  
                        

           This small but sturdy structure, in the heart of Deer Lodge, served for over 50 years as a symbol of the persistence and perseverance of the Catholic faithful in Morgan County. Father Albert J. Henkel, pastor of Saint Ann from1950 to 1957 attributed the structures survival to the parish buying fire insurance from a prominent local agent.

By 1952 the “fire proof” church had stood for over two decades. There was a desire on the part of the faithful to enhance their small church for the glory of God. An itinerant German artist was commissioned to paint the interior of the church. It was decided the solid concrete walls would be painted to appear as marble.

A meeting room was built onto the back of the church in the late 1970’s and running water was installed for the first time. In 1980 a new heating and cooling system was installed and parishioners enjoyed air conditioning for the first time.

Also around this time the Church’s impact on the surrounding community changed dramatically. Saint Ann parish became the center of a major outreach to the poor and needy of the region. In 1978 four brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross arrived in Morgan County. Brothers Paul Bray, Chester Caster, Donald McIntyre, Eugene Houser had many and varied gifts but a single desire to improve the lives of the good people of Morgan and neighboring counties. Brother Paul immediately set to work on the issue of housing. He helped to establish the first Habitat for Humanity program in the area. In fact, it was the first program anywhere in the country outside Americus, Georgia where Habitat was founded. Brother Chester was a physician. He established a medical clinic in Deer Lodge to serve the indigent from throughout the region.

In 1980 the brothers were joined by two sisters of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Sister Julia Marie Jacomet and Sister Rita Bray, Brother Paul’s younger sister. They too assessed the needs in the region and began to concentrate on tutoring those children most in need and religious education. Sister Julia stated that their efforts provided much more than helping them in math, spelling, and reading comprehension. ''What we give them,” she said “is the confidence that they can learn”

For several years the brothers and sisters of the Holy Cross labored tirelessly under the egis of Saint Ann parish. Eventually they handed over their accomplishments to residents of the region as the Congregation of Holy Cross called them to other assignments. By 1998 only Brother Paul remained as an indispensable part of Saint Ann parish.

In 1989 the faithful of Saint Ann began to discuss the possibility of a major physical expansion under the guidance of Father Michael Jennings who was pastor from 1986 to 1997. Clearly, the small parcel of land the church had occupied since 1930 would not accommodate a larger structure. The present site of Saint Ann church is at the geographic center of the county.

A two story "multi-purpose" structure was designed by Shaw & Shanks Architects of Johnson City. David Brewster of Oneida was the contractor. At the time of ground breaking in June of 1994 the parish membership was 28 adults and 9 children with an annual income of $10,600 with $3,800 in savings. The new church was dedicated on January 13, 1996. The seven-year process was brought to a happy conclusion.

Father Michael Sweeney, a native son of Blessed Sacrament (The mother church of Saint Ann.) joyfully assumed the pastorate in 1997. He fondly remembers visiting the parish as a youth and remains pastor as of this date. He has seen the faithful of Saint Ann make continual improvements to the structure. The lower level was finished with a spacious kitchen and storage area and named in honor of the Holy Family. The upper level was equipped with pews. The statues of Saint Joseph and the Blessed Mother from the old church were refurbished and brought into the new sanctuary. Stations of the cross and stained glass windows were installed as was a one-of-a-kind tabernacle and sanctuary lamp of wrought iron and stained glass. The unfinished walls of the nave received gypsum and oak wainscoting. The sanctuary wall behind the altar was finished in natural field stone. An extensive religious education library was established for continuing faith formation.

The efforts of the Saint Ann faithful have not been focused on internal improvements only. A big heart and a generous response has always been the hallmark of Saint Ann parish. Notably, when devastating tornadoes struck the area in 2002, the faithful of Saint Ann set out to address the great loss suffered my so many. Under the guidance and inspiration of Brother Paul, the 20 families of the parish built a beautiful new home for a young family who had sustained not only great material loss but suffered the death of their infant child as well. This is a remarkable accomplishment for such a small parish community, but it certainly is not surprising. Through the 100 years of Saint Ann's presence in Morgan County the Catholic faithful have demonstrated their commitment to their faith and to their community. 

Submitted with appreciation to Deacon Norm Amaro for his fine research and tireless commitment to the inmates at the State prison in Morgan County and his dedication to the faithful of Saint Ann parish.