Historical Marker · No. 355

St. Mary's Catholic Church

Valley County · Nebraska
Erected by Nebraska State Historical Society and Lue Kozeal

The village beside the church began in 1888 as Eldon, laid out when the railroad was extended into the valley, and took the name Elyria once its founders learned that Nebraska already had a town called Eldon. It stayed small, with 77 people in 1940, 89 in 1960 and 50 in the 2020 census. Church boundaries shifted around it. On March 8, 1912, Rome carved the Diocese of Kearney out of the Diocese of Omaha for central and northwestern Nebraska, added more Omaha counties in 1916 and renamed it Grand Island on April 11, 1917.

What the plaque says

St. Mary's Catholic Church St. Mary's Catholic Church was built in 1900 by Polish immigrants near Elyria. They came to Valley County in the early 1880s and attended services in Boleszyn, a Polish church ten miles away. When this church was destroyed by a tornado a dispute arose over the location of a new church. The bishop decreed that half the money for rebuilding should go to Boleszyn, and half to Elyria. With the help of volunteers, St. Mary's was completed in time for Christmas Eve mass. St. Mary's parish ranged from twenty to eighty families and was served by twelve priests before closing in 1982. Until 1953 sermons and prayers were in Polish. Parish records are preserved in the archives of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Ord. The original church bell was installed in 1904 and is now displayed in the cemetery. Names of some church founders are engraved on it. Four generations of parishioners are buried in the cemetery including veterans of Vietnam, Korea, and the two world wars. Nebraska State Historical Society Funded by Lue Kozeal

Where it stands

41.67481, -99.00047 · Directions

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