Union County, SD History .....Church Of St. Peter 1897
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CHURCH OF ST. PETER, Rev. Cyrille St. Pierre, rector. It is with pleasure that we
present to the readers of this biographical record a brief outline of the above
church, which is situated in Jefferson, Union county, and the place of worship of
the oldest Catholic parish in Union county.

The primitive name of the parish of Jefferson was Alascat, and it was thus known
until the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad extended its lines through this
section of the county, when the name was changed to the present one. According to
the register of baptisms, marriages and burials, the first parish priest of the
Church of St. Peter was Rev. Pierre Boucher, who was appointed by Rt. Rev. Bishop
Grace, of St. Paul, Minn. Father Boucher was born July 5, 1821, at Lotbiniere, a son
of Pierre and Julia Victoria (Page) Boucher, and was ordained priest March 27, 1847,
in Quebec, Canada. His first appointment was as assistant at Sherbrooke, where he
remained until 1859, at which time he was appointed parish priest of Notre Dame du
Mont Carmel. For two years he pursued his labors in the latter place, then as priest
of the parish of St. Aiphonse du Saguenay until 1864, and then as parish priest of
St. Raphael. In 1866 he came to the United States, and after his appointment to the
parish of Jefferson, immediately took up his labors. Under his supervision the old
church, 30x60 feet, was erected, as well as a sacristy, 14x20 feet, and a frame
parsonage. Rev. Father Boucher was of a kind and generous nature, and worked hard
and faithfully in this part of the country till the 12th of October, 1879. During
this time he not only discharged his duties in the immediate neighborhood, but he
traveled considerably, and in all kinds of weather, giving missions and attending
sick calls for more than sixty miles. The parishioners of Jefferson will always
remember his zeal and devotion, his many acts of kindness and charity, and the good
he has done amongst them.

The next priest, according to the register, was Rev. P. U. Brunei, who was pastor
from December 28, 1879, to July 6, 1881. He was succeeded by Rev. H. Perrault, July
18, 1881, and November 18, 1883, Rev. I. H. O’Brian took charge. The latter priest
remained only until the beginning of 1884, and the 25th day of the following July
Rev. A. F. Bernier assumed charge of the parish. Father Bernier and his trustees,
Ulrich Bernard, Thomas Riendeaux, Charles La Breche and John Collins, erected the
fine brick parsonage which now adorns the church property, and April 30, 1886, Rev.
Cvrille St. Pierre succeeded him as priest of the Church of St. Peter, and is its
present pastoral incumbent.

Rev. Father Cyrille St. Pierre, one of the most learned members of the Catholic
clergy of South Dakota, is a son of Isidor and Anastasia (Legault) St. Pierre, born
February 24, 1845, and a native of the Island of Raphael, commonly called Isle
Bizard, county of Two Mountains, province of Quebec, Canada. He pursued his first
studies in the College of St. Therese, county of Terrebonne, then took a course in
philosophy in the Jesuit’s College of St. Mary, in Montreal, and completed his
education by three years study of theology in the College of St. Joseph at
Memramcook, N. B. After finishing the specified curriculum he was ordained priest in
the Church of St. Joseph at Memramcook by Rt. Rev. John Sweeny, bishop, of St. John,
N. B., March !9i 1873, and the 2nd day of the following September he was sent by Rt.
Rev. Bishop Bourgette to Manitoba, where he labored among the halfbreeds and Indians
for a period of almost nine years. During that time Father St. Pierre succeeded in
erecting the church and parsonage at Bay St. Paul, but both were subsequently
destroyed by the flood of the Assinoboine river. In March, 1882, our subject, being
invited by Rt. Rev. Bishop Marty, bishop of all Dakota, crossed the line into the
United States, to the second ridge of Pembina, and there gave missions to the parish
of St. Joseph. On receiving his appointment for the mission of Olga on the 29th of
March, the next day he ascended the Ridge and planted his tent. Snow and water at
that time of the year, made the locality very disagreeable, and the nights, which
were always cold, added much to the discomfort of Father St. Pierre; but he braved
all the hardships and privations and started in on his duties at once. He put up
first a shanty of rails and sod, in which he passed the summer, and before winter he
had succeeded in erecting a log chapel, 24x66 feet and also a house for the priest,
16x20 feet. In the spring of 1883 Fa ther St. Pierre disposed of the log chapel to
Mr. George Winter, of Pembina, N. Dak., for $800.00, and with this amount and the
help of his parishioners, he succeeded in building the frame church at Olga, 40x80
feet, and a parsonage 14x16 feet. He continued his labors in the parish of Olga
until April, 1886, the 30th day of that month being appointed pastor of the Church
of St. Peter at Jefferson, Union county, by Rt. Rev. Bishop Marty. For twenty months
he made Jefferson parish his field, and then in March, 1888, though he was ill and
physically unfit to undertake the charge, he was sent to St. Joseph to erect the
parsonage and repair the church of that parish. On the 11th of December, 1889, he
was recalled to the parish of Jefferson and has ever since been stationed here.

Father St. Pierre, on assuming charge of the Church of St. Peter the second time,
set about at once to agitate the cause of better accomodations, made necessary by
the increasing number of families in the parish. The members of the congregation
responded liberally, and on the 14th of August, 1891, he and the committee, composed
of Messrs. Greuvier, Montagne, Authier, and Demers, signed the contract for the
erection of a new church edifice i with F. X. Babeuc, of Sioux City, to cost
$14,224.00. Mr. Babeuc, the contractor, broke ground at once, and began the
construction of the church, and October 4, 1891, the first cornerstone was blessed
by Rt. Rev. Bishop Marty. The ceremony was attended by a great many people, coming
from Sioux City, Elk Point, and the country round about, and the collection on this
occasion amounted to $84.40. Mr. Babeuc vigorously pushed the work of construction,
but during the months of October, November and December, 1891, owing to the
inclemency of the weather, little progress was made. The ediface was entirely
completed, however, by the 4th of February following, and ready for occupancy. Rev.
Father St. Pierre celebrated the first mass in honor of St. Anne, to thank God and
her for the success which attended this great undertaking, and on the 4th of July,
1892, the church was blessed and dedicated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Marty, Rev. Father
Hopkins, of Sioux Falls, delivering the sermon. Among the priests present at the
dedication exercises were the Rev. Fathers Lawler, of Alexandria, S. Dak.; Kennedy,
of Garion, S. Dak.; Maher, of Mitchell, S. Dak.; Hogan, of Elk Point, S. Dak.; A.
Billion, assistant at Jefferson; and Fawler, of the Church of St. Joseph, and
Gerlimann of the Church of St. Boniface, Sioux City, Iowa. A splendid dinner was
served to the hosts in the convent of Jefferson by the Ven. Benedictine Sisters
after the dedication. The church is a magnificent structure, one of the finest in
the diocese, and it's total cost, inclusive of all expenses of every nature, was
$17,802.05. The parochial school or convent of Jefferson parish was erected in 1889,
and is a brick building of two stories, 24x53 feet, with a kitchen 18x22 feet. It
was built under the direction of a committee composed of Messrs. Charles Labreche,
Rainey Authier and John Connors. Mr. Labreche was chairman of the committee, and he
donated the engraved marble in the front of the building bearing the date 1889. The
house finished and furnished cost about $4,000.

A few remarks regarding the situation of the parish will no doubt be of interest.
Jefferson is located between two ridges, Nebraska on the north and Iowa on the east,
and between the Missouri and Sioux rivers. The soil is, therefore, exceptionally
fertile and beyond comparison as to its richness, and the farmers have for more than
thirty years sown grain of all kinds and reaped abundant crops of good quality
without the use of a fertilizer. The parish comprises territory about fifteen miles
square and has a population of about 150 Canadian and twenty-five Irish families.

Rev. Father St. Pierre is deserving of much praise for what he has accomplished. His
heart and soul are in his work and he has infused new life into the church over
which he presides, and under his fostering care it is in a flourishing condition and
its membership is steadily increasing. He is a man of earnest, practical nature, of
much culture, and is very popular with his people and is greatly beloved by them.


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