Saint Michael Catholic Parish

Joseph Voith, a German Catholic originally from Bavaria, settled Maple Grove Township in 1854. His brother-in-law, George Henige, hosted Maple Grove’s first Catholic mass on April 17, 1865. Three other Bavarian Catholic families—those of Joseph Angst, William Walser and George Hirschmann—also attended. Around 1866 they built a mission church on the west side of Lincoln Road at the site of the present cemetery. Following their German tradition, these people made the church the center of community life. In 1876 Saint Michael’s began holding classes in the church. As Maple Grove prospered during the 1880s, St. Michael’s grew. The mission became a parish in 1883, with Father Nicholas Irmen as the first pastor. By 1889 both a school and a new church were dedicated on this site.

[Back]: In 1922 Saint Michael parish dedicated its third church. This Neo-Romanesque church was constructed primarily by parishioners. They used timber from nearby forests, Saginaw-milled oak trim and bricks from Clio and Montrose. Local stone carvers and masons erected the church. The stained glass windows were made in Germany. In 1930 a new Neo-Gothic school was completed. With an influx of Catholic families into Montrose and New Lothrop during the 1930s, Saint Michael Catholic School opened to all children, becoming a public school in 1938. Served by lay and clerical teachers, it revered to being a parochial school in 1953. It closed in 1971.