School at St. Patrick Church: Pioneer Schoolhouse

Making It Home
School at St. Patrick Church: Pioneer Schoolhouse

The log church and school building is portrayed in an 1897 drawing by former student Patrick Doyle.

Early settlers in west Lake Forest opened their first school on weekdays in the same log building used for church on Sundays, located next to St. Patrick's cemetery and near the farm of Michael Yore. Students sat in the choir loft if they couldn’t find space on the benches.The log building was used by St. Patrick Catholic Church from 1844 to 1855, but possibly continued to serve as a school for some years after that.