History

Serving Duluth for 150 Years

A Rich History in Duluth

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has been a worshipping community since at least 1866. The first prayer service on record is August 5, 1866. Our first building was completed in 1869 and stood at 209 North Lake Avenue, Downtown.

In 1881, a typhoid outbreak in Duluth shook the community. The ladies of St. Paul’s “decided something must be done” and rallied the Vestry to form a hospital. A Board of Directors was formed and St. Luke’s Hospital founded shortly thereafter. However, the women of St. Paul’s were not interested in waiting for sufficient funds to be raised before they took action. They rented an old Blacksmith shop and scrubbed, painted, and cleaned the building themselves from top to bottom. The makeshift hospital had a capacity of 12 patients. There was one nurse, a Mrs. Gouin, and the rector of the church himself tended patients three nights a week until the epidemic was over. In 1884, they were able to move the building from the blacksmith’s shop to another building that could house 38 beds. Very quickly, in 1902, a new building was built on 9^th and 1^st Street, which is the present site of St. Luke’s. St. Paul’s continued to direct the hospital until 1925, when St. Luke’s and St. Paul’s officially became separate entities.

The congregation built the present building at 1710 E Superior Street from 1912 to 1914 and added the parish house in 1929. The hall has hosted countless community events, bazaars and celebrations over the years.