Pierce City, Missouri

Harold Bell Wright, 1872 - 1944

Harold Bell Wright was born in Rome, NY in 1872

St. Patrick's Church

Catholicism in Peirce City is as old as the town itself when in 1870 the Frisco railroad laid the first tracks through here going west to Kansas. Many of the railroaders were Irish Catholics.

St. Mary's Catholic Church

Up to 1883 all Catholics in the area belonged to St. Patrick's Church which was organized in 1871. But owing to the increased immigration of the Germans and Poles, some of these members requested Bishop Hogan for a parish of their own. The first St. Mary'

Harold Bell Wright/Pierce City Museum

When the First Christian Church (aka Pierce City Christian Church) in Pierce City closed, its board decided to give the building to the community for a library. The building served as Pierce City's public library from 1933-2000

Opera House (no longer standing)

THIS BUILDING WAS DEMOLISHED AFTER SUSTAINING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE IN THE MAY 4, 2003, TORNADO.

The Raupp Opera House was completed in 1886 and occupied the full third floor of the Opera Building on Commercial;