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St. Columba Catholic Church

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Dothan was first mentioned in the Catholic Directory in 1898 as a mission of Eufaula. However, Dothan was not mentioned again for several years even though it was the fastest growing town in Southeast Alabama by 1900. A priest from Eufaula would visit Dothan four times a year, along with infrequent visits from priests from as far away as Birmingham (a long way by horse and buggy on unpaved roads). Mass was celebrated in the Murray Home on East Main Street.

In 1912, Martin Conner, a generous Catholic from Troy, died and left a large estate to the Diocese. Bishop Allen, the Bishop of the Diocese at that time, used the money to purchase land in Dothan for a church. St. Columba was built in 1914 - a white framed structure on the northwest corner of the intersection of Main and Oates Streets. There were about 15 members.

In 1941, a new brick church was built at 501 West Main Street. in 1954, ten acres of land was purchased at the site of the present church by Monsignor Jewels Keating, the pastor at the time.

In 1963, the third church, now known as the St. Columba Chapel was built. Also at that time, the rectory and small parish hall were completed while Father William Jones was pastor. Since then, classrooms have been added on at different times and O'Hara Hall (named after a former pastor, Monsignor John O'Hara) was built. Further constructions were the pre-school building (although a pre-school had been in existence for 25 years) and the church office building completed by Monsignor Patrick O'Connor. The Boucher Activities Center was completed in 1999 under Father Patrick Gallagher.

After several years of planning and steadfast work, the present church was completed and dedicated on December 14, 2007. This was also under the direction of Father Patrick Gallagher.

St. Columba Catholic Church History