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History of the Dominican Sisters
in Coshocton, Ohio
The town of Goshundunk – since “Englished”
into Coshocton – was the populous headquarters of the Delaware
Indians during the 1700s. Local residents speculate that Jesuit Missionaries
once served the area between the 1700s and the early 1800s. The Catholics
of Coshocton were the charges of the Dominican fathers of Zanesville.
In 1821, Bishop Fenwick, OP, of Cincinnati sent Fr. Nicholas Young and
John Hill to the Ohio mission. The duty of the priests was to search out
and visit the isolated families and small communities of Catholics as
those of Coshocton. By 1831, the band of missionaries numbered twenty-four.
To minister to the spiritual needs of the increasing population the Dominican
Fathers made trips on horseback four times a year to the scattered Catholic
settlements of Coshocton (Sr. Monic Kiefer, History of the Catholic
Church in Coshocton County, Ohio, 1933).
In 1830, the completion of the Ohio Canal made possible the freight and
passenger transportation from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River. This
provided a boom for Roscoe on the canal, and Coshocton on the opposite
 side
of the rivers. In Roscoe a white frame building which still stands, was
erected for the use of congregations of any faith.
The parish records indicate that it took fifty years after the first
Mass was celebrated to establish a school in the parish, and it remains
the only Catholic school in the county.
In September 1907, Sacred Heart parish school was opened. It was a four-room,
two–story building with the Sisters’ house adjoining, and
it was built at a cost of $15,000. The school was opened by five Dominican
Sisters from St. Mary of the Springs: Sr. Gozaga Heffernan, superior;
and Srs. Evangela Schilder, Raphael McNamara, Reginald Biggio, and Mary
Clare Friel.
The school began with 110 students enrolled in eight elementary grades
and three years of high school. As was customary, one Sister taught all
the high school subjects; the first sister to do so was Sr. Raphael. In
June 1909, the first graduating class receiving diplomas consisted of
Marie Bordenkircher, Estella Hartman, and Margaret Mary White.
In 1923, as the student population increased, Fr. John J. Slattery purchased
additional property for a separate high school building. The high school
continued in the new building until 1965, when Bishop Carberry, of Columbus,
made the decision to close the school. From that time until the present,
the classrooms have been used for elementary students. A kindergarten
was opened in 1982 and a pre-school program was introduced in 1987.
The convent was built and dedicated in 1941.
The parish was blessed with religious vocations, and several young women
chose religious life. Among those who joined the Dominican Sisters of
St. Mary of the Springs were:
Sr. Bartholemea Royer, OP
Sr. Catherine Rodman, OP
Sr. Corona Bordenkircher, OP
Sr. Doloita Carton, OP
Sr. Edith Roahrig (Simeon), OP
Sr. Mary Henry Lorenz, OP
Sr. Herman Joseph Bachman, OP
Sr. Irmina Longstreth, OP
Sr. Janice Bachman (Daniel Mary), OP
Sr. Margaret Ann McDowell, OP
Sr. Monica Kiefer, OP
Sr. Sara Zugschwert, OP
Sr. Thomasita Tyson, OP
Sacred Heart: A Brief Historical Outline |
1857 |
Father Frederick Bender said the first recorded
Mass in the interfaith “Old White Church on the Hill”
in the nearby canal village of Roscoe. About the same time he offered
Mass in the old Coshocton Court House. Soon he purchased a building,
known as “Old Fort Sumter” for the parish. |
1859 |
Fr. Serge de Stehaulepinoff purchased property on Third Street
in Coshocton and built St. George Church. |
| 1869 – 1895 |
Fr. John Mary Jacquet was pastor at Coshocton. Born and raised
in France, he had served as a missionary circuit ride in Tennessee
and Arkansas. He worked in Belmont County, Ohio, from 1855 until
his appointment to Coshocton and its five missions. |
1895 – 1900 |
Fr. Walter Ross, recognizing the need for a larger church, purchased
the terraced lot overlooking the town at Eighth and Walnut Streets,
which was to be the site of the present church and its adjacent
buildings. The parish name was changed to Sacred Heart at this time.
The corner-stone for Sacred Heart Church was laid on October 10,
1897, and Bishop John A. Watterson of Columbus blessed the church
on July 17, 1898. |
1900 – 1910 |
Father Owen Synan built the Grade School in 1907. After the brief
tenure of Father T.A. Goebel, Father J.J. Slattery was named pastor
in 1912. He built Sacred Heart High School, which served the parish
from 1923 until its closing in 1966. |
The church was beautifully redecorated in 1986, and provides a prayerful
atmosphere for the celebration of daily Liturgy.
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