The church was dedicated on Oct. 1, 1916, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Eis.

In June 1995, the last Mass took place, as the Marquette Catholic Diocese closed the church.

Because of its rich history, the Most Rev. James H. Garland, bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, granted permission to petitioners to sell their church and grounds to the Menominee Range Historical Foundation for the token payment of $1 in March 1996.

The foundation’s long-range plan was to renovate the building as a museum representing all mainline religions of the Menominee Iron Range and adjoining regions, but the project never materialized.

Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo

In October 1998, the Foundation announced the church would be sold, and in early 1999 many religious articles from the church were removed and relocated to the museum in Iron Mountain for possible use in a religion display.

It was then sold to the Christ Temple of the Church, Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, based in Lansing, in 1999.

When the Foundation sold St. Mary’s Church, the 800-pound bell was removed and kept in storage for almost 20 years.

In December 2015, the Foundation Board offered the bell to Breitung Township, as there was interest in moving the bell back to Quinnesec and building a small structure on the east side of the Breitung Township Hall for permanent display. Guy Forstrom, former superintendent of Breitung Township’s Department of Public Works and MRHF treasurer, restored the bell.

The second photo shows