St. Ann History
St. Ann Catholic Church was established in 1866 in Plattsburg, Missouri. When Archbishop Peter Kenrick from St. Louis came a couple of decades before, he had found no Catholics in the area. After the Civil War, the area had grown mostly with Irish immigrants to the point where a small parish could be established. The first building was located downtown with the second a-frame church built at 5th and Maple streets. When Fr. Dennis Keily arrived in 1884, he soon found that the growing number of families required a new building. The parishioners bound together, acquired the property and broke ground in April of 1887. In December of 1888, the current church, built in the English Gothic style reminiscent of the Irish homeland, was solemnly dedicated. A few years later, Fr. Keily established St. Brenden Catholic School (now demolished), gave up his rectory to be used for teaching sisters, and lived humbly in the back of the church. In addition to the many religious statues and images that were acquired for our church building, the church was elaborately painted in the spring of 1893 with 17 symbols of the salvation history. The school flourished, the community grew, baptisms and marriages were plentiful. After Fr. Keily's death in 1929, Fr. Cummins became the pastor and erected the current rectory. With the struggles that this rural community faced during the Great Depression, the school closed in 1939. In the mid-1950s, the convent was demolished and the current parish hall erected in 1967.
Currently, St. Ann parish is growing again in numbers and in intensity of Faith! With many young famlies, the coming of a homeschool academy and restoration efforts, we hope and believe in a bright future for this parish and to serve this community for the next 130 years and beyond.