Religious History of Nodaway County (Missouri) Driving Tour
Loading...
Get a QR Code for this tour
Description
Explore the religious history of Nodaway County, Missouri
.jpg){kind=avatar}
1. Old St. Francis Hospital
This site is where the old St. Francis Hospital once stood. It served the Sisters of St. Francis from 1895 to 1970 as at a training school for nurses, their home for the motherhouse, and community healthcare center.
2. Mosaic Medical Center
The Mosaic Medical Center of Maryville started as a Catholic institution owned by the Sisters of St. Francis who constructed the building in 1970. Ownership of the property was sold to Mosaic Life Care in 2019, formally ending its 124 years as a religious institution.
3. First Christian Church Disciples of Christ
The Disciples of Christ is a denomination of the Christian Church that focuses on fostering a Christian community among all believers. The mission statement is "We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us." The First Christian Church has been in Maryville since 1868.
4. The first Methodist Episcopal Church
Built-in 1866, this is the location of the first Methodist Episcopal Church in Maryville. This was the location of the first Protestant Church in Maryville.
5. First United Methodist Church
Now the First United Methodist Church, this building was built in 1894. When it was built it was the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1844 the Methodist Episcopal Church experienced a split. A pro-slavery branch emerged called the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The two experienced turmoil both before and during the Civil War. Despite this tension, the Methodist Episcopal Church reunited with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in 1939.
6. Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Built in 1890 this was the location of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Maryville. The MEC, S nationally split from the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1844 over the issue of slavery. The MEC, S supported slavery while the MEC was abolitionist. The two branches reunited in 1939.
7. African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)
The African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1879 by twelve Black members of the community. When the church was founded, it was the only Methodist Episcopal church in Maryville. The church had a congregation of 28 members in 1910 and was the largest African American church in the county. The church disbanded in the 1950s for unknown reasons; the building is no longer standing.
8. Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Mt. Zion Baptist Church was founded around the 1880s, making it the second Black church in Maryville. It was not the only Baptist church and was sometimes referred to as the Second Baptist Church. The church had a small congregation with 14 members in 1913. The church had frequent changes in pastors and closed their doors between 1933 and 1934 due to decreasing attendance.
9. Mount Alverno Convent
The Mount Alverno Convent served as the home to the Sisters of St. Francis from 1948 to 1987. They also had an all-girl boarding and day school on the site. Today, these buildings are home to the Maryville Treatment Center, run by the Missouri Department of Corrections.
10. Conception Abbey
Conception Abbey was founded as a Benedictine monastery in 1873 by the leaders of Engelberg Abbey, a Swiss monastery. The abbey is a member of the Swiss-American Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation. At present, there are around 60 monks who live together, staff and administer Conception Seminary College, the Printery House, as well as the Abbey Guest Center.
11. The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration
Missionary fervor in Europe throughout the 18th and 19th centuries led to many new convents worldwide. This and the growing need for Catholic institutions in the rural Midwest, led five sisters from the Maria Reichenbach convent in Switzerland to establish a new convent in Missouri. They established their convent in Clyde, Missouri around 1876 and selflessly devoted themselves to prayer and serving their community. They supported the community by running a school, orphanage, farm, industrial school, altar bread department, and much more. They are still a pillar of their community to this day and continue having services and prayer.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
12. Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration: Relic Chapel
The Relic Chapel at the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Maryville, Missouri, is home to over 550 first and second-class relics of saints. This makes it one of the largest collections of relics in the United States. The Relic Chapel houses 142 martyrs, 81 virgins, 46 bishops, 44 confessors, 14 doctors of the church, 12 abbots and abbesses, 11 popes, the 12 apostles, and numerous other saints. Relics are known as physical objects that hold religious or spiritual significance, often associated with a saint, a religious figure, or a sacred event. Relics can be categorized into three types: first-class relics (physical remains of a saint, such as bones or hair), second-class relics (items owned or used by a saint, such as clothing or tools), and third-class relics (objects that have touched a first- or second-class relic, such as cloth or medallions).
13. Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration: Clyde Hill Farm
Clyde Hill Farm was a highly successful farming venture done by the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration from from 1874 to 1963. The sisters engaged in a variety of work at the farm including an orchard, chicken house, hog house, and most notably a dairy farm. The sisters' dairy farm was world renowned for the cows' butterfat production along with their exceptional breeding programs. Though the farm has since closed, the buildings are still where they were when the farm was alive including the unique U shaped dairy barn.
