Saint Mary’s Church

HISTORY

St. Mary’s Catholic Church is the oldest brick building in Downtown Stockton. St. Mary’s has been modified several times since the cornerstone was laid in 1861. In 1870, a transept was added, and in 1893, the steeple bell was also added; but all additions have remained true to its red brick Gothic revival style. Through the years, St. Mary had many different names. In the beginnings, the papers referred to it simply as “Catholic Church” when they referred to it at all. Then it was known as “St. Patrick’s,” briefly as “St. Andrew’s,” but colloquially it has always been known as “St. Mary’s.”