St. George got its start in 1916 when the Catholics of Long Lake petitioned for a church of their
own. The original church building was completed in 1917 and stood on the corner of Brown
Road and Grand Avenue. The first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day 1916 in the basement
of the original church. St. George was served by Benedictine priests from St. John’s Abbey, who
also cared for the parishes of Holy Name of Jesus in Medina and St. Bartholomew in Wayzata until 1948.
In the early 1960s, St. George sought permission from the Archdiocese to build a larger church
and began fundraising efforts for its construction. St. George was one of the first parishes in the
Archdiocese to be built after the Second Vatican Council. It is built in the shape of a Greek cross,
with seating around a central, freestanding altar with an overhanging canopy with a crucifix
carved from linden wood in Italy