St. Francis de Sales Church at Elka Park, New York
The historic St. Francis de Sales Church is located in a peaceful setting in the northern Catskills along Platte Clove Road in Greene County, New York. The church is located north of the hamlet of Elka Park and south of the village of Tannersville.
The first St. Francis de Sales Church building at this location was constructed in 1891 through the leadership of Father Hugh O’Neil. Given its proximity, the church was long associated with the Elka Park community, which was established two years prior in 1889. The original members of the Elka Park community were all native-born Germans, many of whom had come to the United States in the 1840s and 1850s. The founders of Elka Park were all members of the Liederkranz Club of New York City, a social club of prominent German Americans. Elka Park was designed as a seasonal resort, with a theme of comfort and recreation among families of like social standing and cultural heritage.
Father O’Neil, the first pastor of the original St. Francis de Sales Church, was born in Dungarvan, County Waterford in Ireland on May 18, 1838, the son of Patrick and Ellen (McSweeney) O’Neil. His father Patrick was a farmer in early life, but later engaged in the bakery business at Dungarvan. Patrick also worked as a spirits merchant and, before the advent of railroads, ran a line of carriages known as post coaches. Patrick was regarded as “a highly respected citizen and an able supporter of the church.” Father O’Neil’s mother Ellen was born in Tipperary in 1796. During the Rebellion of 1798, her family took refuge in the County of Waterford. Hugh was one of eight children.
For his education, Father O’Neil attended a classical school and prepared for college with private tutors, and in 1858 attended All Hallows College in Dublin, where he graduated in 1860. His theological studies were completed at Waterford and at St. Mary’s College at Oscott, England. He was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church on February 9, 1867. After 15 years of service in England at several different parishes, Father O’Neil came to the United States in 1882.
After several assignments at Philadelphia and at Indianapolis, in 1887 Father O’Neil came to St. Mary’s Church at Hunter, New York in the northern Catskills. He replaced Father Patrick H. Delehanty (1852-1888), who had served St. Mary’s Church from the spring of 1883 until September 1887.
Father O’Neil’s obligations at Hunter, New York included “the arduous duties of a widely distributed district, which included villages and settlements within a radius of fifty miles.” His duties “were zealously and energetically performed by him for five years, or until his circuit was divided, since which time the concentration of his labors has enabled him to accomplish results far more visible in their effects. Besides effecting the enlargement and improvement of St. Mary’s Church, he erected St. Franis de Sales Church in Platerkill [Elka Park] in 1891. At both these churches he officiates the year round, celebrating two masses each Sunday during the summer season, besides holding week-day services whenever occasion demands.” For a time, he conducted regular services at the Hotel Kaaterskill during the tourist season, “but these he was obliged to relinquish on account of his increasing labors elsewhere.”
Father O’Neil was well regarded in the community. “He has earnestly endeavored to promote the spiritual welfare of his widely-scattered flock, and the zeal he displays in conducting the affairs of his pastorate has gained for him the good will of the entire community. He organized the Sacred Heart and Rosary societies, and he takes a lively interest in the work of the town improvement society, of which he is a member. At the earnest request of the people of Lexington he aided in securing the erection of a church in that village; and he has also repaired St. Henry’s Church, located between Ashland and Prattsville.” (Biographical Review: Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Schoharie, Schenectady and Greene Counties, New York. pp. 192-193.)
In November 1900 Father O’Neil retired from parish work due to failing eyesight and a complication of diseases. Upon retiring, Father O’Neil left the United States to return to his home country of Ireland. He died less than a year later in September 1901 at his birthplace of Dungarvan, County Waterford in Ireland. Upon his passing it was written that Father O’Neil “was well known in this city [Troy], where he had many friends. He was especially popular in Troy and Hunter, and his death will be lamented generally by the people in both places.” (The Argus. September 13, 1901.)
In time, the first St. Francis de Sales Church, once described as “a little shed-like church building,” outlived its usefulness, and it was decided to construct a new church in order to accommodate the growing congregation. Money for the construction of the church was provided by Francis H. Lewis, supplemented by money raised by the congregation. The design of the church was based on Father Keefe’s remembrances of a church he had seen in France. The old church building was moved across the road, where it was used for several years as a parochial school for the parish.
The new St. Francis de Sales Church was dedicated on May 20, 1913 by Bishop Thomas Burke of Albany. Upon the church’s dedication, the building was described as “a very pretty frame edifice and will afford ample accommodation for all the Catholics of that district having a seating capacity of 400.”
The church was built under the leadership of Father William E. Keefe, who served at the Immaculate Conception Church at Haines Falls. Father Keefe’s “territory in the mountains was extensive owing to the fact of it being a popular vacationing section, and comprised all of Greene County on top of the Catskill Mountains. It covered three townships and included many small villages and hamlets. During the summer three priests have worked under Father Keefe in that section. All the well known mountain parks, including Onteora, Elka, Twilight, Sunset and Santa Cruz are within the territory which was comprised in his working section. These parks are private reserves and enclose the summer homes of many wealthy New York, Philadelphia and Washington people.” (The Columbian Republican. June 27, 1916.)
Father Keefe was born in Cohoes, New York on August 24, 1870. He was educated in the public schools of Cohoes, the old Christian Brother Academy and at Niagara University. He was prepared for the priesthood at St. Joseph’s Seminary at Troy, New York. He was ordained into the priesthood on September 19, 1896 at the chapel of the Sacred Heart Convent at Kenwood, New York. After ordination he was sent to Catholic University at Washington D. C. for post-graduate studies, where he remained until June 1897.
Father Keefe was next assigned to a summer mission at Lexington in the Catskills, where he remained until September, 1897. He was then appointed chaplain for the Christian Brothers, who then had a novitiate at the Old Troy Seminary in Troy, New York. Later he was made assistant pastor of St. Bernard’s Church at Cohoes, and remained there for six years. He was then appointed pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church at Haines Falls. In 1916 he was appointed pastor of St. Mary’s Church at Hudson, New York, where he remained for 24 years until his passing in 1940. Father Keefe is buried at Saint Agnes Cemetery at Menands, New York.
St. Francis de Sales Church is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. The mission church falls under the auspices of the Sacred Heart-Immaculate Conception Parish that includes the communities of Palenville, Haines Falls, Tannersville, Elka Park, East Jewett, Hunter and Lexington. Adjacent to the church is the St. Francis de Sales Cemetery, which contains over 1,100 grave sites.
In addition to the St. Francis de Sales Church at Elka Park, there were two other nearby churches of the same name in the hamlets of Phoenicia and at Lexington. The church building at Lexington no longer serves its original religious purpose, as it is now the home to the Lexington Historical Society.
St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) is a recognized saint in the Roman Catholic faith. He served as the Bishop of Geneva and authored in 1609 the highly influential Introduction to the Devout Life. He was canonized in 1665 and was further honored in 1877 with the title of Doctor of the Church, a title bestowed on those who have advanced the Catholic Church’s knowledge of faith through their research, study and writing. His feast day is celebrated on January 24. He has been honored as the patron saint of Catholic writers, Catholic journalists and the deaf.
