The following information comes from The Carlin Historical Society, which has taken charge on spearheading the eventual restoration of this historic Carlin building:
the east end of Main Street and faces the 10th Street railroad crossing. The 10th Street crossing is one of two primary railroad crossings in Carlin. The tracks split the town into northern and southern portions. It was the second church to be built in Carlin, the Methodist Church being the first. It served as the church for the Catholics of Carlin until 1978 when a new church was built north of the railroad tracks. The old Church on Main Street has long been a part of the visual landscape of Carlin and is probably the most recognized historical structure in the community.
The Church was dedicated in 1912. The Evening Standard of Ogden, Utah documented the occasion and wrote that “Sunday, September 29, will be long remembered as a red-letter day in the annals of the Catholic Church in the Sagebrush State.” On that day, Father Corcoran “complimented the Catholics of Carlin on their lavish generosity and extolled the noble sacrifices they had made in building such a handsome temple of worship and said it would ever remain a standing monument of their faith and religion. He looked forward to their church being the source of community of manifold graces and blessing from the high heaven.”
In 1978, Carlin’s Catholic community built the new church due to the lack of interior space and parking at the old Church on Main. In 1988, the Catholic Diocese sold the Church to a private owner. It remained in private ownership until 2019 when it was seized by Elko County for unpaid property taxes and was to be sold at auction. Upon request by a large number of Carlin citizens, our City Council voted unanimously to request the building be sold to the City for the amount of the unpaid taxes. On May 15, 2019, representatives of the community attended the meeting of the Elko County Commissioners and formally made the request. The Elko County Commissioners voted to sell the property to the City of Carlin in the amount of $3,696.00.
The structure is over 100 years old and only the basement has been occupied in the last 50 years and even the basement has been vacant for several years. The building stands, however, preservation and rehabilitation measures need to be taken as soon as possible. An architectural and engineering study needs to be completed prior to moving forward with any construction projects. The roof is the primary concern but has been temporarily tarped in order to prevent further degradation to the structure.
The newspaper article described the building as follows: “[t]he church is 39 feet long and 26 feet broad. It has a pretty sanctuary and the altar, designed by Father Corcoran, is reminiscent of the Church of the Catacombs. The interior is of pressed iron, the walls 16 feet high are of beautiful fleur-de-lis pattern and are painted a deep rose; they are surmounted by a molding in tan: the ceiling is a light pink. The communion rails, pews and confessional are stained and varnished. The altar is in white enamel.”
Here is a small article from The Eureka Sentinel dated June, 1912 announcing the contract award to build the new church:
Here is an article dated October, 1912 from The Nevada State Journal announcing the dedication of the new church:
A big thanks to Ella Trujillo, Carlin Historical Society for the information.
This is a historical structure, so please don't take any pieces. Pictures welcome!