The Old St. Raymond Church is a historic church in Dublin, California. The building was registered in the National Register of Historic Places on 12 April 2006.
The oldest existing Catholic church in the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa was built in 1859 and dedicated in 1860. The structure was erected at the northeast corner of 4 acres (0,016 km2 ) of land donated by Michael Murray and Jeremiah Fallon, which also served as the site of the historic Old Murray Schoolhouse and the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery. Jeremiah donated $30 in cash to the church’s construction costs.
The church features a simple Gothic Revival design and a New England-style white clapboard exterior with nicked wooden benches and large redwood floors. The wood for the chapel had come from the hills around Oakland; the trees had been brought over by the oxen to be milled in Dublin. It was built by the families of Murray and Fallon, Irish immigrants from Elphin, County Roscommon who had left before the Great Famine and lived in New York City before joining some of the early wagon trains to the west, including the Donner Party. But both families were part of the Donner Party at Fort Bridger in Wyoming. During construction of the church, pioneer Tom Donlon, fell to his death on September 6, 1859 and became the first formal burial in the nearby Dublin Pioneer Cemetery.
Originally a mission church, local residents were unable to afford a full-time priest so that a member of the Oakland clergy would ride a mule to St. Raymond once a month to offer Mass. Later, the church was under St. Leander ‘s Church in San Leandro, then St. Michael’s Church in Livermore, and finally, in 1961, it was under the jurisdiction of St. Augustine in Pleasanton.
The first marriage took place in 1865 between Ellen Fallon (daughter of Jeremiah) and William Tehan. The belfry was first added in 1880. In 1966, the church moved to a new, much larger location (also called St. Raymond’s Church) and the Oakland Diocese gave the old church to the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society (ALVHS) to be preserved and restored. ALVHS put the building to many uses and sold the church to the City of Dublin in 1993. The City was also able to acquire the adjacent Old Murray Schoolhouse and the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery to establish the Dublin Heritage Centre. The City of Dublin rents a building for both community and private use.
The first renovation of the Old St. Raymond Church was recorded in 1922, and the most recent renovation soon after the town took possession of the structure. The general appearance of the church has remained unchanged since its construction in 1859. A new bell tower was built through private donations; the restoration of the church was completed in 1967.
The Old Church of St. Raymond is available for weddings, memorials, baptisms and intimate gatherings. If you’d like to have a ceremony in a very special location, book the Old St. Raymond in Dublin. The charming chapel, built in 1859, has a white clapboard exterior, Gothic arched windows, heart redwood floors, and can accommodate up to 68 people.
Take your vows in an uncluttered space that embraces you with a sense of peace and quiet. Not only is the church available for weddings and other types of ceremonies, but the nave, which has excellent acoustics, can also accommodate meetings and musical programs.
This amazing landmark is just one of the many must-see sights you don’t want to miss in Dublin, California:
- Emerald Glen Park
- Dublin Hills Regional Park
- Hacienda Crossings Shopping Center
- The Shops At Waterford
- Fallon Sports Park
- The Green’s Store
- Wallis Ranch
- Tassajara Hills
- Tralee Village
All of these wonderful landmarks are located just a short distance from our location located at 6400 Village Pkwy #101 in Dublin, California! Stop by for a visit anytime!
