History of Good Shepherd Church
The first Roman Catholic Church in Franklin County, Tennessee was built in Winchester between 1867 and 1868. It was located on North Jefferson Street and Second Avenue and named St. Martin’s Church to honor the patron saint of Martin Scharber, a parishioner who contributed greatly to its construction. A second church, also named St. Martin’s, replaced it in 1893 and was built along Highway 64 in Winchester. A third Catholic Church was built by Paulist Fathers as part of their evangelization efforts. It was dedicated on December 7, 1907 (see link to 1908 news article, below). The community used this church until 1967, when a series of fires destroyed the building. At this time, the Good Shepherd community purchased eleven acres of land in Decherd. The parish planned to build a new Catholic school to replace Winchester Academy. The Academy existed alongside the original Good Shepherd in Winchester and had fallen into disrepair. Once the new school was finished, a church was built adjacent to the school. The School of the Good Shepherd was originally staffed by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. When the Sisters relocated to Nashville, administration and teaching at the school became the responsibility of gifted lay persons. The mission of the School of Good Shepherd: “to educate the mind, develop the spirit, and nourish the body through conveying the teachings of the Catholic faith in a Christ-centered environment”. The School of the Good Shepherd successfully carried out this mission for 112 years. Due to declining enrollment, the school closed at the end of the 2015 school year.
1908 Article about Good Shepherd Church
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