St Patrick's Church, White Lake, MI
St. Patrick’s Parish of White Lake
9086 Hutchins Road
White Lake, MI 48386
This is the little original St. Patrick’s church across the street from St. Patrick’s Parish of White Lake on Hutchins Road. It was built in 1840 and is believed to be the oldest existing frame Catholic Church building in the Lower Peninsula. This area was one of the earliest in Michigan to be settled by Irish immigrants who arrived in the 1830s. The parish was organized in 1939 with about 30 members. Membership increased when the potato famine of 1845 in Ireland led to thousands to the United States. Having outgrown the tiny structure by the 1880s, the congregation moved to Pontiac, Milford, and other areas until approximately 1950, when a permanent parish was established here in Union Lake. Maintaining its original floors, walls, and windows, this edifice is still used for ceremonial purposes. Today, the surrounding neighborhood is known as the “Dublin” area.