St. John the Baptist Church, built in 1884, is significant for its architecture as a well-preserved example of the vernacular Greek Revival ecclesiastical style, and for its ethnic associations with the settlement and development of Frenchtown, Montana.

By 1860, several French-speaking immigrants from Quebec and eastern Canada founded the settlement of Frenchtown in the Missoula Valley. In 1864 local resident H. Miller served as the chairman of the first board of County Commissioners for Missoula County, and with Commissioners C.C. O'Keefe and F.L. Loveland, had jurisdiction over much of western Montana.

By 1866 the office of the Justice of the Peace had been established, and two years later a post office was located there.

By 1868 a restaurant, saw mill, grist mill, two saloons, a distillery and feed stable provided goods and services for area residents, and the town had achieved a certain degree of stability and permanence. Shortly after Louis Barrette discovered gold in Cedar Creek northwest of Frenchtown in 1869, 3,000 prospectors flooded the area and soon the community was providing food, lodging and supplies for area miners. To accommodate the growing population, four new hotels were built in 1870 and the local sawmill produced 6,000-10,000 board feet of building materials per day. A number of new businesses opened in the early 1880s including a feed stable, variety store, millinery, and a variety of other stores.

By 1864, the French-Canadian Catholics living in Frenchtown had successfully lobbied for a church, and in the same year, a crude log building was built to serve as the first Catholic church in Frenchtown and the second church in Montana for non-Native Americans. By the time Father Tremblay arrived in Frenchtown in the summer of 1884 as Frenchtown’s first secular priest, the town had outgrown the original church. Construction for a new church began in June 1884 and, by August 21 [historic plaque says August 10] of the same year, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was dedicated. A ship's carpenter named Lugar Forast is credited as the primary builder of the church, but a number of other local men reportedly assisted in its construction. A sermon was given in French by the Reverend Lactantius G. Tremblay in conjunction with St. John's Day, a Canadian national and religious celebration.

In 1981, a group from St. Albert the Great Catholic Community began writing to the Milwaukee Railroad for land to build their church. They looked into buying the Alberton Depot building.

In 1982, the building committee formed and purchased a 100 X 200 lot from the Milwaukee Railroad for $2,250.

In 1993, a new building committee formed and meetings began. An additional 2 1/2 lots were purchased to increase our land to accommodate both a church and parking lot. People were asked to sign up for committees to build the new church.

Construction on the new church began in August 1997, and the first Mass was held on Palm Sunday 1998 with Father Victor Langhans as the celebrant. The formal dedication was November 1999, with Bishop Robert C. Morlino presiding.  A formal dinner, prepared and served by the parishioners, followed the dedication. 

Deacon Van Wolverton was ordained on August 26, 2000.

Eva Blackman is our historian.

The original church was built in the Summer of 1915 for an approximate cost of $1,000.  At that time it was St. Mary's Church.  The first resident pastor was the Rev. J.J. Connelly.  In 1923 a rectory was purchased by Father Killia who came to serve as pastor that same year. It stood 500 feet west of the church.  The Strand Theater was also a piece of Parish property.

In 1958 Father Joseph B. Oblinger, decided that it was time to construct a new church to accommodate the growing Catholic community.  It  was completed with the first Mass celebrated on November 9, 1958 at which time it became St. Mary Queen of Heaven. It was built at a cost of $40,000 being funded by a grant by the Extension Society. The original church was moved to the the corner of Spruce and 4^th Avenue.  It has, through the years, been used for several businesses which have included a laundromat, second-hand store, restaurant and a doctor's clinic.

Pastors following Father Oblinger are:  Rev. Ernest F. Burns, Rev. Thomas J. Fenlon, Rev, James D. Burns, Rev. Malacha M. Beatty, Rev. James P. Thomas, Rev. Charles H. Roman, Rev. William L. Waggenor, Rev. John P. Miller, Rev. Victor E. Langhans, Rev. Dougald McCallum, Rev. Frank McCormick, Rev. Kevin Christofferson, Rev. Bart Tolleson,  Rev. Jeffrey Fleming, and our current pastor, Rev. David Severson.