Saint Agnes Catholic Church - Antlers, OK
N 34° 13.914 W 095° 36.922
15S E 259104 N 3790963
Saint Agnes Catholic Church is at 501 E Main St, Antlers, OK.
Waymark Code: WM1A90R
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/09/2024
Views: 5
The sign out front says, "Serving Pushmataha County Since 1897", and that is indeed when they were established. The Oklahoma Historical Society has a
document that is part of a larger work from 2000-2001, "Reconnaissance Level Survey of Four Southeastern Oklahoma Towns: Antlers, Broken Bow, Hugo, & Idabel", and on page 11 (with 1955 then-and-now photos on the following page), they provide a bit of history, which makes the 1947 construction date and lack of a school all too clear:
One of the more interesting developments pertaining to both churches and schools in Antlers involves the establishment of the St. Agnes School of the Choctaws. This was a Catholic mission school established in 1897 under the leadership of Father William Ketcham. Initially the school was a "neighborhood" or tribal school. Nuns employed by the Choctaw government taught at the school and many of the children educated at the school were full-blood Choctaws. The school's enrollment peaked during the period from 1910 to 1913, when nearly 130 students were in attendance. St. Agnes School was established on East Main Street and it grew to include a number of buildings. In addition to a church, there was a boy's home, a building for the nuns, and classrooms. None of the original buildings has survived. The tornado of 1945 destroyed most of them and resulted in the termination of the mission. St. Agnes Catholic Church was subsequently rebuilt in the same area on East Main Street, and constitutes one of the few reminders of this former mission.
In addition to the [Sunday] 11 AM Mass time, the Southeastern Oklahoma Catholic website (see below) lists 9 AM for weekday Mass, and "Holy Days as announced".