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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-06-26 enewsletter attachmentHistory of St. James Catholic Church Trumansburg, NY Long before the European People came to the Finger Lakes region of New York, lived the indigenous people of the Cayuga Tribe. Documentation shows the tribe was there thousands of years before the arrival of these new people. The Cayuga tribe was a founding member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy [Iroquois]. Cayuga means [Gayogoho':no], "People of the Great Swamp". Jesuit Missionaries came to the region about 1656. They wanted to teach the indigenous people about Christianity. The Cayuga tribe practiced a religion that was all about Nature. They worshiped one Great Spirit. During the American Revolutionary War, the Sullivan -Clinton campaign of 1779, forced the Cayuga's and other Iroquois Nations out of the region by an order given by General George Washington. There was a treaty in 1794 reserving land for the Cayuga people. This treaty did not last for long. The Cayugas were forced to cede the land. Many of the people relocated to Canada, Ohio and later to Oklahoma. The relocation happened between 1795 and 1807. In 1789 Pope PiusVI, established the First Roman Catholic diocese within the boundaries of the original United States at Baltimore. In 1808 the diocese was divided into a number of other dioceses. One of these dioceses became the dioceses of New York. The diocese included all of New York and the northern half of New Jersey. In 1847 Pope PiusVI divided the dioceses of New York into three dioceses. The diocese of Buffalo was the diocese the Finger Lakes Region belonged to. In 1868, Pope PiusVI took eight counties from the Diocese of Buffalo including Tompkins to form the Diocese of Rochester. The Diocese of Rochester is the Diocese that includes the town of Ulysses and the village of Trumansburg and St. James the Apostle Catholic Church. Now that we have a small bit of information about the area where the church was built, we can go on to the people who founded St. James. The first Catholics that came to this area made their homes in Interlaken, [then called Farmers Village], Ovid and Trumansburg. They started coming to this area in the late 1830's and the 1840's. These early Catholics were mostly Irish immigrants. They found work in quarries, they became farmers and some worked for the Railroad. When these first settlers came there were only three Catholic families in Trumansburg. On the adjoining land around Trumansburg, there were about twenty-two other Catholic families. These settlers depended on the traveling Priests who would come around and say Mass in many different homes. When a Priest was not available, these families would walk or horseback to Mass either in Ithaca or Auburn. By the 1850s, the Catholic Community was growing in all the local neighborhoods. The people decided it was now time for a permanent church and a resident Priest in the communities. In 1854 the Bishop instructed the Priest named Fr. William Gleason, to find a site for the new church in Trumansburg. In 1856, Fr. Gleason parched the old Methodist church, built in 1831, in the village of Trumansburg on Main St. Beginning in 1854, the new church being built was named by the new parishioners, St.James the Apostle. James was the brother of John, the 'Beloved Disciple" [John 20:2]. St. James the Apostle church has gone through many ups and downs over the years. In 1895, the church was moved from its location on Main St to its permanent place on Whig St. The church was remodeled for just over $2,000. The Bishop of Rochester in 1886, formally dedicated the new St. James the Apostle church in a very formal and elaborate ceremony that lasted over three hours. Since the beginning of St. James the Apostle, the church had many different Priests that came, served and made a great impact on the whole community. On January 28th 1949, a fire completely destroyed most of the church, including the sanctuary. The parish Priest appealed to the entire Dioceses for assistance in rebuilding costs. The parish people also organized their own rebuilding fund. They raised $20,000 from just 65 families by February 10th of that year. While the church was being built, Sunday Mass was held in the Burg Theater, in the village of Trumansburg, which was owned by a parishioner. On June 11, 1950, the Bishop of Rochester, Bishop Kearney, came to St. James the Apostle, to dedicate the rebuilt church with a High Mass. Within three years, the number of families joining St. James the Apostle Catholic Church was growing all the time. At this time it was decided to purchase some land at the corner of South St. and Whig St. for a much needed parking lot. The Capuchin Friers came to this area in 1951. The Friers served St. James the Apostle and the other two parishes in Ovid and Interlaken. They served Mass at all three parishes on Sunday. As the years dwindled on, the Friers have been serving all three parishes continuously since 1994. The current Pastor is Fr. Bernard M. Maloney. OFC Cap. He has served in the area since August of 2014.