About St. Mary of the Assumption [Madison County Catholic Community] · Laurin, Montana
St. Mary of the Assumption is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the tiny hamlet of Laurin, Montana (population under 50), in the Ruby Valley of Madison County. It is one of four parishes that together form the Madison County Catholic Community under Father John Crutchfield, alongside St. Patrick in Ennis, St. Joseph in Sheridan, and the Notre Dame mission in Twin Bridges. The parish is best known for its striking sandstone Gothic Revival church — designed by the prominent Montana firm of Link & Haire, built 1899–1900, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places — which still draws roughly 60 worshippers to Sunday Mass from across the surrounding mining and ranching country.
- Established
- 1899-1901 (church built 1899-1900, dedicated 1901; original 1875 frame parish predates it)
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary (under the title "of the Assumption")
- Rector
- Father John Crutchfield
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena
Why belong here
St. Mary of the Assumption offers a rare opportunity to worship in a beautifully preserved historic church that has served the Catholic families of Montana's Ruby Valley since 1901. The parish keeps a simple, faithful liturgical life in a tight-knit rural setting, with Sunday Mass each week (10:00 a.m. in the warmer months, 8:00 a.m. in winter) and Holy Day Masses as announced. As part of the Madison County Catholic Community, parishioners are shepherded by one pastor who intentionally walks with four small country parishes — visiting parishioners across the high country from Whitehall to Twin Bridges — and confessions are available before Mass or by appointment for those who live in or travel through the valley.
Mass times at St. Mary of the Assumption [Madison County Catholic Community]
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before Mass
- By appointment
Parish Overview & Madison County Catholic Community
St. Mary of the Assumption is one of four parishes that together make up the Madison County Catholic Community, a single pastoral unit in the Ruby and Jefferson River valleys of southwestern Montana. The community also includes St. Patrick Parish in Ennis, St. Joseph Parish in Sheridan, and the Notre Dame mission in Twin Bridges. All four are served by a single pastor, Father John Crutchfield, who travels the high country to keep regular Mass available to widely scattered ranching and mining families. The parish office, mailing address, phone, and email are shared across the entire community out of Sheridan.
- Parish pastor: Father John Crutchfield
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 17, Sheridan, MT 59749
- Office phone: 406-842-5588
- Office fax: 406-842-7433
- Email: [email protected]
- Sister parishes in the community: St. Patrick (Ennis), St. Joseph (Sheridan), Notre Dame (Twin Bridges)
History of the Parish
Catholic life in Laurin began with the gold rush. After the 1863 discovery of gold on nearby Alder Gulch, the town of Laurin grew up around the canvas-tent trading post of Jean-Baptiste Laurin — a French-Canadian merchant whose log mercantile served the 10,000-plus miners who poured into the Ruby Valley in the mid-1860s. Within five years most mines had played out and the boom towns emptied, but Jean-Baptiste Laurin remained one of the town's wealthiest citizens and benefactors. The first Catholic church — a modest wood-frame building — was erected around 1875, served by the parish alongside an adjacent rectory. As Laurin's Catholic population outgrew that structure, the parish contracted the prominent Montana firm of Link & Haire to design a far grander replacement. Construction ran 1899–1900; the new sandstone Gothic Revival church was dedicated in 1901 and has served the Ruby Valley's Catholics ever since. Its construction was made possible by an $8,000 bequest from Adeline, Jean-Baptiste Laurin's widow, given to the Bishop of Montana in 1897 to build a new Catholic church for the expanding parish.
- 1863 – Gold discovered at Alder Gulch; town of Laurin founded by Jean-Baptiste Laurin
- c. 1875 – First Catholic church (wood-frame) and rectory erected
- 1897 – $8,000 bequeathed from Adeline Laurin's estate to the Bishop of Montana for a new church
- 1899–1900 – Present sandstone Gothic Revival church built
- 1901 – Church dedicated
- 2026 – Continues to serve the Madison County Catholic Community under Father John Crutchfield
Architecture & National Register Listing
St. Mary of the Assumption is recognized as one of the finest small-town Gothic Revival churches in Montana and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP #85003380). It was designed by Charles S. Haire of the firm Link & Haire, who together designed more than 1,000 public, private, commercial, and institutional buildings across the northwestern United States, including additions to the Montana State Capitol. Built along a modified cruciform ecclesiastical Gothic plan, the church rests on an uncoursed granite foundation and rises in high-quality sandstone masonry with a prominent three-story, single-bell tower (shouldered mass, octagonal roof) flanking the main entrance. The stained-glass Gothic windows were manufactured in Minneapolis by the Forman Ford & Company and are highlighted by decorative stone arches and lintels. A decorative wooden fascia board encircles the eaves, and the gable roof retains its original fish-scale-patterned metal shingles, punctuated by four matching gable dormers on each side. Inside, ornamental oak trusses support the vaulted ceiling; oak wainscoting, pews and furnishings adorn the nave; and a hand-crafted oak reredos behind the altar extends the full height from floor to ceiling.
- Architect: Charles S. Haire of Link & Haire
- Style: Gothic Revival, modified cruciform plan
- Foundation: uncoursed granite; walls: sandstone masonry
- Tower: three-story, single-bell, shouldered mass with octagonal roof
- Stained glass: Forman Ford & Company, Minneapolis
- Roof: original fish-scale-patterned metal shingles with four matching gable dormers per side
- Interior highlight: full-height hand-crafted oak reredos behind the altar
- Listing: National Register of Historic Places, NRHP #85003380
Building Preservation & Renovations
The church has been carefully maintained for more than 125 years, with each generation of parishioners carrying out targeted preservation work. Early mid-century modifications improved safety and access; later campaigns focused on weatherproofing the masonry and stained glass and restoring original woodwork. Most recently, in 1984, the chancel was enlarged into a circular shape and the interior was carpeted.
- 1956–1959: New concrete steps constructed at the front and rear of the building; semi-circular chancel extended five feet into the nave; original church lights replaced with contemporary spotlights
- 1977–1981: Deteriorating mortar in foundation and walls repointed; exterior of stained-glass windows covered with Lexan for protection
- 1983: Original solid-oak doors at the front of the church refinished
- 1984: Chancel expanded into a circular shape; interior carpeted
- Adjacent c. 1875 wood-frame Catholic church and rectory still stand on the property
Father John Crutchfield & Parish Staff
St. Mary's is pastored as part of the Madison County Catholic Community by Father John Crutchfield, who also serves as pastor of St. Theresa in Whitehall and St. Catherine in Boulder (with St. John Mission, Boulder Valley). In March 2026, Bishop Austin A. Vetter announced that Father Crutchfield would continue in these roles for a second six-year term effective July 1, 2026, in addition to his ongoing responsibilities leading the Madison County Catholic Community. Father Crutchfield is widely known across the valley for crisscrossing southwestern Montana to bring Mass and the sacraments to small country parishes.
- Pastor: Father John Crutchfield
- Diocesan announcement: retains pastorship of St. Theresa (Whitehall) and St. Catherine (Boulder) for a second six-year term effective July 1, 2026, alongside Madison County Catholic Community
- Bishop: Most Reverend Austin A. Vetter, Diocese of Helena
- Parish staff contact: [email protected], 406-842-5588
The Wider Madison County Catholic Community
Because Laurin is too small to host a full-time priest on its own, St. Mary's is administered alongside three other parishes as the Madison County Catholic Community. Worshippers at St. Mary of the Assumption are part of a wider family that includes St. Patrick Parish in Ennis, St. Joseph Parish in Sheridan, and the Notre Dame mission in Twin Bridges. The community is headquartered in Sheridan, where the shared mailing address, phone, fax, and email are kept.
- St. Patrick Parish — Ennis, MT
- St. Joseph Parish — 105 Poppleton St., Sheridan, MT (headquarters)
- St. Mary of the Assumption Parish — Laurin, MT (this parish)
- Notre Dame Mission — Twin Bridges, MT
- Headquarters mailing: P.O. Box 17, Sheridan, MT 59749
- Headquarters phone: 406-842-5588
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father John Crutchfieldcurrent; continued for a second six-year term as pastor of St. Theresa (Whitehall) and St. Catherine (Boulder) effective July 1, 2026 in addition to Madison County Catholic Community
Oversees the four-parish Madison County Catholic Community (St. Patrick, Ennis; St. Mary of the Assumption, Laurin; St. Joseph, Sheridan; Notre Dame mission, Twin Bridges); also pastors St. Theresa, Whitehall, and St. Catherine, Boulder, with St. John Mission, Boulder Valley.