Parish History
History of St. Edward Parish
(from the Parish Directory)
A returning World War I Chaplain and native of Racine, Rev. J.W. Bott, founded St. Edward's Congregation in October 1919, on what was then Racine's southwest side. Fr. Bott was given an assignment by Archbishop Sebastian Messmer to establish the first Racine parish without a national or ethnic basis, in a predominately Danish Lutheran area. Fr. Bott had no congregation and no money when he came to Racine. The site for the new church and proposed school on Grove Avenue was only four blocks from Racine's west-side city limits and as he looked West from the location, all he saw were fields.
A block of lots on Grove Avenue between Wright Avenue and 15th Street were purchased. The first church was a small, wooden-frame building which had been a Lutheran chapel at Wright and Hayes Avenues. It was purchased for $900 and moved to the Grove Avenue site, placed approximately where the altar of the present church stands today. This small chapel could seat about 75 to 100 people for mass.
A house at 1330 Grove Avenue became the first rectory.
By the summer of 1920, St. Edward's already had grown considerably. Crowded conditions of the small church soon became apparent, and in the early summer of 1920 the church was enlarged to twice its former size, a beautiful altar erected and a sacristy provided.
At the end of the first year, the determination of the congregation was set upon clearing the entire indebtedness from the parish consisting of about $3,650. That late fall a Bazaar was held which realized over $2,000, which together with the money on hand was sufficient to clear the debt.
Thus, in less than one year from the date of the organization, the congregation by its unity of spirit, had accomplished what at first seemed impossible, the raising of $24,000 within the year, setting an enviable record never to have been accomplished by any congregation under similar circumstances.
In 1922, due to the steady increase in membership, it was found necessary to have additional Masses. In the Spring of 1926, amidst great splendor, the cornerstone of the new school was laid and the work constructing a new rectory began. There was an audience of 3,000 people that day which included many dignitaries of the Catholic Church, the Mayor, many civic officials and the American Legion Drum Corps and Knights of Columbus Glee Club. Three-hundred children carrying American flags formed a picturesque portion of the processional. Dedication took place on May 30, 1927. The little church was then dismantled and Masses were said in the school basement. The "Underground Church" as it was called, served for 26 years until the current church was built.
The Congregation liquidated its debt in 1946 and immediately began saving funds for construction of its present new church. Ground was broken on December 22, 1950 and the new church was dedicated October 18, 1953, St. Edward's Feast Day. After the church was built, the school playground on the east side of the church and school was extremely narrow. East of that was the Chicago & North Shore right-of-way where trains passed hourly. At the start of the 1957 school year, St. Edward's was able to lease a 30-foot strip from Wright Avenue to 15th Street, adjacent to the playground, for $100 a year. A few years later, when the North Shore ceased operation, St. Edward's was able to acquire all of the line's land from Wright to 15th and also a portion south of 15th, with West Blvd. the east boundary.
Continued growth of the congregation required the start of additional grades in St. Edward's school and a campaign to enlarge the school to two classes for each grade and build a convent for the religious sisters who teach. From 1927 to 1933, St. Edward's had two graduations a year, one at the end of each semester. Because of a boom in marriages, births and housing after World War II, enrollment rose from its 1927 figure of 239 to 842 in the 1960-61 school year.
The Altar Sodality (now named Women of St. Edward) is the oldest organization in our parish. It was organized with 23 charter members on October 16, 1919. The Holy Name Society (no longer active) was formed with 215 charger members on October 20, 1927. St. Edward's Parish has been blessed with 90 years of spiritual and material growth. Our parish history is an unceasing story of a membership putting faith into action.
