Clinton Hill

The parish of St. Patrick was founded in the early 1840s, prior to the establishment of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The origins of the church are a bit obscure, but it appears to have been founded as a parish for Irish Catholics in East Brooklyn (Wallabout), with the first services held in private structures near Wallabout Street and Flushing Avenue. Early secondary-source references to the church call it the Wallabout Church. In 1843, Rev. Hugh Maguire was appointed as the first priest for the parish.

Part of a row of three brownstone rowhouses. Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide (v. 15, no. 360, February 6, 1875), 100.

Part of a row of three brownstone rowhouses. Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide (v. 15, no. 360, February 6, 1875), 100.

Part of a row of three brownstone rowhouses. Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide (v. 15, no. 360, February 6, 1875), 100.

Church was founded in 1869. The first structure used by the congregation was a former public hall on Cumberland Street. From 1871 to 1893, the congregation worshipped in a frame church that they had moved from Gold Street to Carlton Avenue near Myrtle Avenue.1

St. Patrick parish was founded in 1849 as St. Patrick Church Mission to serve Ft. Hamilton area, making it one of the oldest parishes in Brooklyn (although at the time of its founding, Bay Ridge was part of the separate town of New Utrecht, not the town of Brooklyn). The church was the Catholic parish of soldiers stationed at Ft. Hamilton. The first St. Patrick church at Fort Hamilton was dedicated in 1852.