Did you know that Anderson County has a direct connection to the culture and legacy of Ireland? Anderson County’s St. Patrick’s Church, in the former Irish community of Emerald, does just that. The Irish who eventually landed in Emerald, Kansas, built the county’s first and at the time, only, Irish Catholic Community, along with a small log church.
The cornerstone of the present-day church was laid October 30, 1895 and the etched and ornate woodwork of the church’s interior and arched entries led to the church being called “The Cathedral on the Plains”. Disaster struck on September 1939 when a fire destroyed the church. The building was reconstructed; but without the fancy woodwork, exterior domes and other fancy accessorie, due to cost.
An interesting sidenote, Father Karnowski, wrote to entertainer Bing Crosby for help and Crosby presented the church with the Sacred Heart Statue. Later, church members would dig a basement Parish Hall underneath, that holds 400 people, complete with a kitchen.
Saint Patrick’s celebrates its 163rd Anniversary this year.
