Landmark St. Peter's Mission

Address 832J+VH
Cascade, MT 59421 View on Map Own or manage this business?

Website http://www.cascademontana.com/mary.htm Phone 406-468-9216

Overview Service & Activities

About St. Peter's Mission was founded approximately in 1874 when Sister Amadeus and three other Ursuline nuns came to Cascade. St. Peter's Mission was a boarding school/academy for Native Americans. When Sister Amadeus became ill, Mary Fields also known as Black Mary, an indentured servant of her family, came to Montana to live with her. Black Mary stayed in the area and there are quite a few stories written and told about her. At the time of Black Mary's arrival, St. Peter's Mission buildings were in need of repair. Mary, was six feet tall, heavy, tough and as strong as any man and soon she became the foreman of the project. However, after an altercation with a fellow worker Mary was asked to leave the Mission. In 1895 she found a job that suited her, as a U.S. mail coach driver for the Cascade County region of central Montana. She never missed a day, and it was in this position that she became a legend in her own time known as Stagecoach Mary, for her ability to deliver on a regular schedule. She died in 1914 in Cascade, Montana. Neighbors buried her in the Hillside Cemetery in Cascade, marking the spot with a simple wooden cross which may still exist today. Basically, St. Peter's Mission remains today only as a landmark in the area, although there is still an occasional mass said to mark special events. Still visible on the hill above the church is the old cemetary.

Contact

MAILING ADDRESS 499 Mission Road
Cascade, MT 59421

CONTACT 406-468-9216

Details

SPECIAL DIRECTIONS St. Peter's Mission is located outside of Cascade Montana. From Great Falls, take I-15 South, turn at the Cascade exit #254, then turn right. Drive about 12 miles on a gravel road. The mission is about a block off the road and there are two fence gates to open/close because the area is fenced off for cattle grazing. Please be aware that there could be rattlesnakes in the area.

SERVICES

ACTIVITIES History