St. Mary's Cemetery - Chippewa Twnp PA

In the 1860’s a small group of German ethnic Catholics in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, began efforts to establish a church/parish of their own. Their efforts came to fruition in 1872 when the St. Mary’s Catholic Church opened on Sixth Avenue. The building was later converted to a parochial school after a newer and much larger church was dedicated in May 1897. It was about this time that a cemetery was established for the congregation out in Chippewa Township, on property located at the intersection of Darlington Road and Clayton Road. The cemetery was expanded when the adjoining Grimm farm, located in the “Y” at the intersection, was purchased in 1944.

St. Mary’s Church and neighboring Holy Trinity Catholic Church, established for local Polish ethnic Catholics in 1910, were consolidated in early 1994 to form the new Divine Mercy Parish. When the Holy Trinity building was closed in March 2012 the remaining building (St. Mary’s) was renamed as Divine Mercy Catholic Church. Within a few months it was discovered that the roof of the St. Mary’s (Divine Mercy) Church was in need of extensive and costly repairs. The main sanctuary was closed and its future was cast in serious doubt. The Divine Mercy Parish was abolished in July 2013 and merged with three others to form the new St. Monica Parish. The historic St. Mary’s (Divine Mercy) Church was demolished beginning in late 2014.

Meanwhile, the beautiful cemetery sits in a peaceful location and remains in active use. Among those buried there is Dennis Mutscheller (1878-1951), the former mayor of Beaver Falls from 1933-37 and the father of former professional football star Jim Mutscheller.

This older map reveals the location of the two main sections of St. Mary’s Cemetery in Chippewa Township. The cemetery was established on the upper section in about 1897. The property was expanded when the lower section was acquired in 1944. The black arrow points to the small chapel. (1939) Full Size

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