Our History

Since 1880, St. Mary has been a tradition in the community of Shelby, offering a Christ-centered education for students where faith, academics and service are the cornerstones.

In 1910, the cornerstone was laid for a new school that was completed the following year. The new St. Mary School was an imposing building, two stories high with a large basement. It faced Raymond Ave. and had two large classrooms on each floor. There were two grades taught in each room. At first there were only outside toilets that became known as “Jake” and Lena”. *

In 1969, a new St. Mary School opened (our current building) it’s doors for the first time. A rather unique building, incorporating a modern concept in school architecture, it became the pride of the Parish. Each classroom is an individual unit with its own entrances from Raymond Ave. and exits on the courtyard. *

*In 1976, Mr. Henry Frankl authored a booklet entitled, The Building of a Parish – The History of Shelby’s Catholic Community.

For this, and his many other contributions to our community, we wish to thank him!

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohscogs/Churches/Churches-StMary.html