St. John Paul II Catholic Academy History

1875

St. John the Baptist Parish was established in Menominee.  The Sisters of St. Agnes came to establish a school in the choir loft of St. John’s Church.

1876

In the fall of this year, the Sisters opened a school with thirty pupils. They charged tuition. They worked in the loft for two years before there was a school building. The building was located on the corner of what is now 10th Avenue and 10th Street. In 1892, St. John’s became an English-speaking congregation. They shared their school with Epiphany Parish.

1887

St. Anne’s school opened. It was located behind the church at what is now 10th Avenue and 13th Street.

1900

A new St. Anne’s School was built near the Interstate Bridge. This was a French-speaking school. The Sisters of St. Agnes staffed it until 1923, when the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity came from Silver Lake, Wisconsin. A new school building was built in 1953. Four additions were added within the next twelve years.

1902

Epiphany School was the third school to be established. The parish was German-speaking. They purchased the school that had belonged to St. John’s Parish and modernized it. The school was torn down in 1922. A new brick building was erected in its place. This building was used until 1964 when the downtown schools merged to become Catholic Central South.

1964

St. William’s School opened in 1964 under the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres from Marquette, Michigan. It was located on what is now 41st Avenue. An addition was erected immediately due to overcrowding. During the same year St. Anne’s, Epiphany, and St. John’s met to consider consolidation. Monsignor O’Neil D’Amour, a nationally known educator, directed the process, which resulted in the first consolidated Catholic school in the Diocese, named Menominee Catholic Central. Their school board oversaw operations at both MCC and St. William’s schools.

1972

The four Menominee parishes were merged, and the two schools were renamed Menominee Catholic Central South and Menominee Catholic Central North.

1997

The north and south buildings were consolidated in June. The school was named Menominee Catholic Central and was located at 1406 10th Avenue.

2014

The purchase of the former Lincoln School from the Menominee Public Schools was made possible through a generous donation by Mr. Leon Felch. The school was renamed St. John Paul II Catholic Academy. At the present time, St. John Paul II Catholic Academy continues to operate as the only Catholic school in the city.