St. Aloysius Church, Shandon, Ohio, 1868-1968 Among the early settlers of this area there probably were a few Catholics. Since there was no church we have reason to believe that some of them attended other Christian denominations, while others practiced their religion as best they could, traveling to St. Stephen, Hamilton; St. James, White Oak; or Assumption, Mt. Healthy, whenever they could make the trip.  Some, no doubt, went to St. John, Dry Ridge, and St. John, Harrison, when those parishes were established.  In February of 1868 the first piece of property was bought for the parish. The records of Butler County indicate that Philip and Margaretta Ruhlman sold lot 32 of Section 25, Morgan Township to Archbishop John B. Purcell for the sum of $600.00. Apparently it was a frame residence, formerly owned by Dr. and Mrs. S. K. Hamer, who are listed among the pioneers of Paddy's Run. Our present church building is situated on that same lot, although more property was acquired in subsequent years.

In the Catholic Telegraph of June 10, 1868, we find the first written evidence of shepherd and flock coming together to establish a congregation. We quote the article as it was printed:

NEW LONDON, BUTLER CO., OHIO: This place was visited on the 2nd inst. by Archbishop Purcell accompanied by Rev. Messrs. Egger, Steinliage, Hammer, and Rombouts. A small frame was blessed as a temporary chapel -- it was merely ground broken in a new place where we hope to have ere very long a church and a congregation. Patron: St. Louis Gonzaga.

 Perhaps the news item needs some explanation for those who are reading it one hundred years later. This community has had many names in its long history and the name New London was the one in use one hundred years ago. The controversy over the name of the community is a lengthy story by itself. In 1893 it ended with the agreement upon the name Shandon, provided by the U. S. Post Office Dept.

The news item also mentions St. Louis Gonzaga as patron. It should be noted that our patron St. Aloysius was also known as Luigi Gonzaga, and this accounts for the news writer's use of "Louis".

Who were the clergy who accompanied the Archbishop that day? The Rev. Gebhard Egger was pastor of St. John, Dry Ridge, at that time, and our parish records show that on that same day (June 2, 1868) he baptized five people.  Father Egger attended to the spiritual needs of the people from 1868 to 1873, and during this same time he was pastor of St. John, Dry Ridge. Our records show that he baptized nineteen people during this time, including two sets of twins: Philip James and James Philip Schuler in 1869; and Margaret and Henry Kinney in 1872. When Father Egger was transferred from St. John, Dry Ridge, he was followed by Father Francis J. Voet. It appears from our records that Father Voet also served the mission for a short time in 1873, and then the Franciscan Fathers began their long years of service to the mission church in Shandon. Father Jerome Kilgenstein attended the parish from 1873 to 1875. We understand that later he became the first Provincial of the Franciscan Fathers Province of St. John the Baptist, with headquarters in Cincinnati.

When the Franciscan Fathers began to serve the Shandon mission, they came by horse and buggy from St. Stephen's, Hamilton. Mass was offered on Sunday whenever possible, and even as late as 1907 this was only once a month, usually the third Sunday. In the summer of 1911 the congregation began to have Mass twice a month, usually the second and fourth Sundays, and this continued until 1921 when the priest was able to come every Sunday. On Sundays when there was no Mass many families gathered together at home to recite the Rosary. Some had "prayer rooms" in their homes where private devotions were held on the Sundays when there was no Mass. Around the turn of the century the Franciscan Fathers came out to Shandon from their headquarters in Cincinnati. In 1903 the C. & 0. Railroad became their means of transportation. They came on Saturday evenings and were met at the Shandon station by one of the Herzog boys, usually Frank, and they were driven by horse and buggy to the Herzog farm on Millville Road outside of town, where they spent the night. Around 1920 the priests who served the mission came from St. Francis Seminary, Mt. Healthy.

Apparently the first place of worship for the congregation was a frame building which quickly proved inadequate.  Between 1873 and 1878 plans were made for a new brick church.  In 1878 the frame building was moved and the brick church was built on the same spot.  Many contributions came from Hamilton, and the parishioners did most of the hauling and construction work.

This church building served the church until 1900 when fire destroyed the church and part of the town on the night of May 2. The Catholic Telegraph, May 10, 1900, gives a vivid description of the event:

The Catholics of the Village of New London, Ohio, were stricken by a severe loss. In the night of the second of May their neat little church, dedicated to St. Aloysius, was completely destroyed by fire. The conflagration, which for a time threatened to wipe out the entire village, originated in a barn at the outskirts of the town; the wind blowing furiously, the fire was carried thence to four or five barns and houses, and finally reached the belfry of the church a block distant. The exertions of the village fire brigade proved altogether inadequate to the raging flames.

A message calling for help was then sent to Hamilton, which is 12 miles distant; but before assistance arrived, the church was in ruins. Not an article could be rescued from the raging furnace. Altars, communion railing, confessional, organ, bell, vestments, etc., all became a prey to the fiery monster. Nothing remains but the naked walls, and even they are so damaged that they will be of no further use. Truly, a very great affliction for the poor and small congregation!

The congregation was established by Rev. Father Egger of blessed memory; but the late edifice, now utterly destroyed, was erected by Rev. P. John B. Schroeder, O.F.M., mostly through the assistance and charitable contributions of the good people of Hamilton. It was dedicated in 1878, and the bell blessed by Rev. P. Ubaldus Webersinke, O.F.M., the present pastor of St. Stephen's. The congregation was attended regularly by the Franciscan Fathers of Cincinnati. The insurance on the church amounts to only $1,200, and it will hardly be possible to rebuild it unless by aid from the charitable of other congregations. Any donations which the generous hearted may desire to make toward the assistance of the bereaved parish can be sent to Rev. Hugh Staud, O.F.M., 1615 Vine Street, this city.

On the front of our church today you find a stone with the inscription: "St. Aloysius Church - Erected 1878". Beneath that stone is another: "Rebuilt 1900". The first stone was salvaged from the fire; the second stone, in a few words, tells of the sorrow, the determination, the labor, and the sacrifices of a handful of Catholic families who with the help of many friends built the new St. Aloysius Church, which still serves the congregation today. By studying the pictures we note that the same foundation was used. The side walls now have five windows each, instead of the original four, and these windows have a slightly different arch at the top. The vestibule on the church today was an addition of more recent years, as the pictures indicate.

For the first sixty years of its existence the congregation consisted of only about seventeen families. Parish records show that in 1934 this increased to 25 families; in 1941 to 1945; in 1951 to 1954; and by 1960 there were 113 families in the parish. In the last eight years there has been continued slow growth bringing the total number of parish families today to 150. Indications are that the growth will continue as the parish enters its second century.

Growth, no matter how small, always brings with it the need for expansion and more property. For seventy years the original lot was the only piece of parish property, but in 1938, under the administration of Father David Hiller, O.F.M., the parish purchased the house and lot adjoining the church property to the rear. From 1938 to 1956 the house was the residence of the Leo Day family, who also looked after the church buildings during this time. In 1956 this residence became the parish rectory.
 
In April 1954, the parish purchased the Schradin-Walther General Store for $16,000.00. This price included everything, even the store's stock. The parishioners explored every nook and cranny of the building and discovered some very interesting and old-fashioned items, and it was decided that a mammoth auction sale should be held. Several sales were held, the building was torn down for parking space, and the entire income to the parish was almost $10,000.00. Thus the parish was able to double the size of its property for a little more than $6,000.00. In April 1956 the parish bought the property of the Strickler estate, giving itself more frontage on the Cincinnati-Brookville Road.

In November 1945 the parish bought some property on the edge of town as a possible site of a new parish plant. However, it was later found to be unsuitable for the parish needs and was sold back to the original owner for $1,500.00.

After many years of service from the Franciscan Fathers the mission at Shandon was put in the care of diocesan priests once again. In early 1944 Father Joseph Urbain was appointed. A few years before he had been assigned to start the new parish of Queen of Peace, Miliville, and when that parish school was opened many of our children were admitted. . . .

 © 2000 by the Butler County Historical Society