In the 1880’s was an infant industrial area with paper and powder mills, Staple, Washburn and Sutton brickyards just four of the 130 lining the banks of the Hudson River. A sign pointed inland to a glass company(hence naming the hamlet of Glasco). The Sheffield Mills and the Ulster Iron Works bordered the Esopus Creek. Bluestone quarries dotted the local landscape.
When Bishop DuBois headed the Diocese of New York in 1826, it included the entire state and northern New Jersey. Very few Catholics were scattered in the territory. He deputized Father Philip O’Reilly to “found missions and build churches wherever on banks of the Hudson the number of Catholics might invite such an undertaking”. Father O’Reilly founded St. Mary’s in 1833 creating the first parish of the Hudson, spanning New York City to Albany. At one point, St. John’s, then in Fish Creek, and St. Joseph’s were missions of St. Mary’s. Father O’Reilly was the only priest. Once a month he celebrated Mass. John Kearney meticulously recorded that the 79 men (all Irish) attending Mass on April 19, 1837, contributed $23.03, most giving 50 cents monthly dues. $16 went to Father O’Reilly and the remaining $7.03 Kearney put into the account of the Church kept in the safe at Ulster Iron Works where he was bookkeeper and many of the first parishioners worked. For 12 years Kearney administered the temporal affairs at St. Mary’s.
From 1847 until 1864, St. Mary’s aligned with the newly-created Albany Diocese. The church was built in stages and used for Mass while under construction. The cornerstone by the west side door reads 1833 and 1891. It was dedicated in 1950 by Bishop John McCloskey, the first Bishop of Albany, who later returned to the New York Archdiocese to become the first New York Cardinal. The dedication stone was placed in the outside shrine under the rose window with the Sacred Heart statue from the old convent and blessed after the October 16, 1983 150th anniversary Mass as a tribute to St. Mary’s heritage. Following an 1891 fire, Father O’Flynn rebuilt the gutted church, adding the first five pews and present sanctuary. He was also the builder of the original rectory in 1879 which became the sisters convent/school in 1881 (on the site of the present parish center), and in 1885 he built the now vacant rectory. The steeple was added c. 1863 with its massive bell tower, inscribed “Jones & Co., Founders, Troy, NY”.
The church was restored again in 1989 following a March 26 Easter Sunday fire. Miraculously spared were its beautiful Tiffany and other stained glass windows.
Under the mantle of Our Lady of the Snow, it gracefully reigns over the Hudson, welcoming the challenges of the 21st century, strengthened by the heritage of dedicated, faithful servants, a beacon for ages to come.
The Cemetery grew from the first graves around the church in 1833 to fill much of the church property now occupied. Prominent is the stone marking John Kearney’s grave. Religious interred here are two former pastors, the Rev. Edmond Harty and the Rev. Edward Farrelly, Saugerties native Msgr. Edward Montano and Sister of Charity Marie Elaine. In 1915, nine acres in Barclay Heights were purchased for a new cemetery.
From the 175th Anniversary Book