ST. NICHOLAS PARISH: A BRIEF HISTORY
1865-Present
THE STRUTHERS COMMUNITY
In 1798 John Struthers of Washington County PA purchased 400 acres of land around the Yellow Creek. There he built a sawmill, a grist mill and a cabin on a hilltop overlooking today’s Lowellville Road. In 1871 Catholics who lived in the then growing community built a church on that same spot.
In 1803 Daniel Eaton built the first iron blast furnace west of Pittsburgh, the Hopewell Furnace, upstream toward Poland on Yellow Creek. Additional furnaces soon followed, including one by John Struthers in 1806, but all closed as the War of 1812 drained away manpower.
Some 50 years later in 1865, Thomas, son of John Struthers, repurchased his father’s land and laid out a village. By then canal and railroad systems ran through the area. Several iron plants were built and by the late 1800s the community held 1000 inhabitants. The steel industry boomed and immigrants flooded into the area. In 1899 an interurban electric line connected Struthers village with Youngstown. In 1902 Struthers incorporated and the village of East Youngstown (now Campbell) started. Struthers grew into a city by 1920. The area prospered until 1977 when Youngstown Sheet and Tube and several other plants closed. Struthers however refused to die. It remains the only city in the U.S. without a cemetery!
Today Struthers consists of 3.8 square miles with a 2000 census population of 11,756 persons from 3255 families living in 4700 households -- 97% white, 28% Italian, 20% German, 16% Slovak, 16% Irish, 6% Polish, 6% English and the rest a mix, including a few Frenchmen whose number recently grew by 1. In 2000 about 9% of families and 12% of the population were below the poverty line.
THE ST. NICHOLAS PARISH COMMUNITY THROUGH THE YEARS
When the Civil War ended in 1865 and Thomas Struthers repurchased the land his father had owned, a French priest from Villa Marie Convent traveled monthly to Mt. Nebo to celebrate Mass with 15 Catholic families. In 1870 the community became a mission of St. Joseph (German) parish in Youngstown. The little mission church built in 1871 was served successively by St. Ann, St. Columba, and Sacred Heart parishes in Youngstown as well as by Villa Marie. The com-munity derived its patronal name from Fr. Nicholas J. Franche, a Villa priest who served the community from 1881 to 1888. In 1903, one year after Struthers incorporated, Fr. Patrick F. O’Byrne was appointed the first resident pastor. When a 1907 fire destroyed the 1871 church, a second one seating 400 was built on the site of John Struthers’ cabin at 45 Lowellville Road, overlooking the Mahoning River Valley.
In 1943 the Diocese of Youngstown was established and Fr. John McFarland became pastor. The parish was flourishing, but on December 29, 1944 fire again destroyed the community’s church building. The church’s large wooden crucifix survived and was restored in 1971. It hangs now at the entrance to the lower church chapel.
The community survived too and in 1945-46 built its third and current St. Nicholas church on three acres of the old Creed Farm purchased by the parish in the 1920s for $4,378. A1928 parish school already functioned on those grounds. Funds for the new church were raised under the patronage of the Infant of Prague, toward whom the parish retains strong devotion. The architect of the new church, Arcene Russo, designed a statue of the Sacred Heart which the contractor with his wife, Philip and Rosaria DiCiocco, donated. It still stands in front of the church, welcoming all who pass by.
Numerous enhancements followed: a church sign; a 1946 Holtkamp Organ, wonderfully refurbished in 1984 with 21 stops, 1091 pipes and three divisions; tile walls in the church basement in 1967; stepped walkways to the front entrance from both Wilson Street and the parking lot; new holy water fonts; a new pulpit fronted with a golden eagle saved from St. Columba Cathedral’s 1954 fire; in 1988 the stepped walkways to the front were smoothing out and a ramp was constructed into the church from the front, followed by installation of a lift in 1990; a new altar of wood salvaged from the 1967 fire was constructed to match the pulpit and new wood candle-holders were added.
Struthers boomed through these years and St. Nicholas with it. At its height four resident priests served the parish’s 3000 families. Additions to the school built in 1950, 1954 and 1956 accommodated a growing enrollment which peaked at 1601 students in 1960-61. The current rectory was built in 1953 and a convent (now Marinelli Manor) in 1961. It was sold in 1985 as the number of sisters serving the parish declined. In 1988 the Wilson Street primary school building was leased to Tiny Tots Day Care.
The third church itself suffered fire damage in 1967, but once again, fire just fueled the spirit of parishioners. In the early 1970s Pastor Paul Petric proposed a grand Parish Hall. To support his vision, parishioners started a Festival in 1974, complementing the Bingo operating since 1948. The 1977 collapse of the Valley’s steel industry delayed construction of the Hall until 1986, but in 1982, an area on the parish campus occupied by a 1950 shrine to Our Lady of Fatima was cleared for that purpose. A new shrine honoring the Blessed Mother was built into the hillside on the north side of the church. These developments grace our St. Nicholas Church campus to this day.
ST. NICHOLAS PARISH TODAY
From 1865 to 1990 St. Nicholas Parish baptized 10,792 persons, 9652 made their first communion, 9038 were confirmed, 3435 couples married and 3301 people were buried. The work of Christ in this section of the vineyard continues.
In 2007 St. Nicholas served 1900 households while celebrating 63 baptisms, 74 first communions, 64 confirmations, 28 weddings, and 89 funerals while educating 189 students in its school and 281 in its CCD. The parish remains vital.
St. Nicholas’ 17th pastor, Fr. Bob Bonnot, was installed on September 30, 2007. Like the first priest who served this congregation in 1865, he is a Frenchman (with German blood as well)! The parish’s French heritage is perhaps represented in the fleur-de-lis which grace the lower edge of several of the church’s stained glass windows.
ST. NICHOLAS PARISH TOMORROW
May the family of God among the people of Struthers continue to grow in Christ and the Spirit. May the St. Nicholas Parish communion of saints flourish and help the entire Struthers community transition from its boom days to its new life as a mature and settled community of mixed heritage. The people of Struthers remain hard-working and forward-looking in today’s global economy and faithful in today’s global church.
By Fr. Bob (Bernard R.) Bonnot, January 2008
Demographics (Wikipedia)
Population ( censusGR2 of 2000)
· 11,756 people,
o 3,255 families
· 4,982 housing units
· 4,704 households
o 30.8% were non-families.
§ 27.4% - individuals
§ 15.8% - someone 65 years of age or older living alone.
o 51.3% - married couples living together,
§ 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them
o 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present
o average household size was 2.49
o average family size was 3.03.
Racial Makeup
· 96.63% White,
· 1.78% African American,
· 0.19% Native American,
· 0.19% Asian,
· 0.01% Pacific Islander,
· 0.47% from other races, and
· 0.74% from two or more races.
· Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.02% of the population.
Age of the population
· 23.3% under 18
· 8.7% from 18-24
· 27.0% from 25-44
· 20.0% from 45-64
· 20.9% - 65 years or older
· median age: 40 years
· For every 100 females there were 88.3 males.
· For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males
Median Income for a household - $30,720
· For a family - $37,212.
· For males - $30,588
· For females - $21,438
· per capita income - $15,587
· 8.8% of families and 12.0% of the population below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.