Historical Marker
Oklahoma's First Catholic Church
Atoka County · Oklahoma
Erected by Oklahoma Historical Society and State Highway Commission, 1971
St. Patrick's was founded in 1872 by the Rev. Michael Smyth, helped by his brother the Rev. Lawrence Smyth, both natives of Ireland, and it was built by and for the Irish-born workers of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad living in town, with local residents including the Choctaw leader Benjamin Franklin Smallwood. Robot, a French Benedictine, reached Atoka in October 1875 with Brother Dominic Lambert, looking for a refuge for his monastery as France's anticlerical laws closed religious houses. They were the first Catholic missionaries to settle permanently in what is now Oklahoma.
What the plaque says
Oklahoma's First Catholic Church St. Patrick's Church of Atoka was built in 1872. Fr. Michael Smythe from Ft. Smith served here. Fr. Isidore Robot, O.S.B. was 1st resident priest. He later was 1st Prefect Apostolic of Ind. Ter., and founded Sacred Heart Mission west of Atoka, 1876. Oklahoma Historical Society and State Highway Commission 1971
Where it stands
34.36145, -96.14418 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Civil War Burial Site — 3.0 mi
- Atoka — 3.1 mi
- Geary's Station — 6.8 mi
- Boggy Depot (Butterfield Overland Mail) — 9.7 mi