In a letter dated July 29, 1853, Rev. John McMahon, pastor of St. Michael’s Church in Flushing noted that in the small village of Manhasset there was a group of Irish and German farm families who were without a church. Since St. Michael’s had outgrown its small wooden church, a decision was made to transport it to Manhasset. The church was carried by boat to Manhasset Bay and then reconstructed on Plandome Road next to the Town Hall at the site of the current Bank of America. St. Mary’s was designated a mission under the jurisdiction of St. Michael’s. The church was welcomed in Manhasset although it was uncomfortably hot in summer and cold in winter heated only by a pot-bellied stove placed in the middle of the aisle. There was no pastor. A priest would drive out in a horse and buggy and say one Mass on Sunday and holydays.
Rose Perrot, a parishioner, wrote to her friend Fr. Minturn in 1960 reminiscing:
“Having moved to Plandome in 1908, I really knew what it meant to live in the ‘Wilderness of Nassau County at the turn of the century…I look back to the days when things here were almost primitive. It’s hard to believe that Manhasset with its Miracle Mile etc. was practically all farms when we came out here.”
Although the first resident pastor, Rev. James Strain, arrived in 1863, he left in 1864 and thereafter there was a succession of resident pastors, but none were able to stay long enough to prevent St. Mary’s from reverting to mission status. Manhasset’s Catholic population continued to grow however. Records name 86 contributors to the Easter collection of Mar. 28, 1875 donating a total of $249.32.
By 1911, there were a total of over 250 in the St. Mary’s congregation. In June 1912 St. Mary’s finally became an independent parish with Rev. William Dwyer as pastor. In August of that year, Father Dwyer bought the property on which the present church and rectory stand. He selected as the architect of the new church Fredrick H. Briggs of Plandome and as builders, the Hamilton Brothers, who were born in Manhasset and baptized in the old church. The church was built in the Spanish mission style in recognition of its long history as a mission. The architect’s direct stylistic inspiration was the Church of San Luis Rey built by Franciscan Missionaries in 1798. It was located along the old Spanish mission trail in California and is currently on the Register of National Historic Places.
The next pastor, Rev. Thomas Quinn completed the new church construction. He finished the auditorium in the basement of the church and paid off most of the debt. The cost of the church with furnishings was approximately $75,000. The first Mass at St. Mary’s was celebrated on August 15, 1917.
Over the years St. Mary’s pastors have responded to the growth of the Catholic families in Manhasset. In 1925, Rev. Ambrose Dunnigan laid the cornerstone for St. Mary’s Elementary School and brought in the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as teachers. Rev. Francis Coppinger, who succeeded as pastor, purchased the house between the church and the school building in 1929 to serve as the convent.
— from St. Mary’s parish
