In 1877, at the urging of some 200 French Canadian settlers, Bishop Grace assigned the legendary pioneer priest Fr. Joseph Goiffon to minister to the Catholics of White Bear Lake. Weather permitting, Fr. Goiffon celebrated a Mass every Sunday at William Markoe’s cottage. The parishioners themselves built the first St. Mary of the Lake church, using fieldstones, cobblestones, and evergreens from the area. The first altar was created out of packing box lumber. Bishop Grace dedicated the church on August 15, 1881. As the community grew, the church expanded. In 1893, it was lengthened by twenty feet. A school opened in 1914. Mrs. Mary Hill, wife of James J. Hill, the great railroader, spent summers at the Hill experimental farm in North Oaks and attended Mass at St. Mary each Sunday. After her death in 1921, her daughters honored their mother by donating the funds to build a new church. It was a replica of St. Mary, their mother’s parish in St. Paul. The beautiful, new St. Mary of the Lake was dedicated on Sunday morning, November 27, 1926. Over the years, the parish has grown from a small community of 250 people to over 2,100 households. To accommodate the growing community, the parish life center was expanded along with the school.
