St. Anthony of Padua's church is a landmark for Casper for a variety of reasons, and as we recognize its 100 year anniversary, I thought it would be fun to take a look at how it has changed through the last century.

The dedication by the bishop of the finished church building occurred on August 15th, 1920.

Take a look at these pictures and see how the building and the area surrounding it has changed in the last 100 years, from the laying of the cornerstone on September 7th, 1919 to how it looks now.

Then stick around to learn a bit more about the amazing history of how a few women with an idea helped to create the building we see today.

The History of the St. Anthony Church Building

In the early history of Casper, Wyoming (the late 1880's to be exact) Catholics in the area had to travel by wagon to Chadron, Nebraska to receive sacraments from a priest or wait for a traveling priest to come to the community.

A group of local women, led by a Mrs. Dunn, decided to work to raise the funds to build a church and bring a priest permanently to Casper. They went door to door asking for support and held Bazaars to raise funds.

By the end of 1897, $1,600 had been secured, and it was finally possible to build a church for the Catholic residents of Casper.

The original church site was located on the southeast corner of First and Center Street, and the name of St. Anthony was chosen to honor the first resident Pastor, Rev. James Anthony Keating who arrived in Casper in 1898.

The current site of St. Anthony of Padua was purchased in 1913 when it became clear a larger site would be needed to serve Casper's growing Catholic community.

Do you have vintage pictures of this Casper landmark?

We'd love to see them. You can share them with us through the free My Country Mobile App.

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