St. Clement Church and School
former Roman Catholic church and school in Center Line, Michigan
St. Clement Church & School was a Roman Catholic parish and educational institution located in Center Line, Michigan. Founded in 1853, it was among the oldest religious and educational institutions in Macomb County, Michigan. The parish served the spiritual and academic needs of the community for more than 150 years under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit until its merger in 2012.
History
Founding and early years
St. Clement Parish was established in 1853 to serve Catholic settlers in Warren Township, an area that later became the city of Center Line. Early parishioners were primarily German, French Canadian, Belgian, and Irish immigrants. Before the construction of a permanent church, Mass was celebrated in private homes.
In 1854, a small wooden frame church was erected along what is now Van Dyke Avenue. The parish quickly became a focal point for the growing rural community, providing both religious services and social support.
The public source identifies “St. Clement Church and School” as former Roman Catholic church and school in Center Line, Michigan. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Clement, Church and School.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “St. Clement Church and School”, the useful work is to connect “former Roman Catholic church and school in Center Line, Michigan” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q139759786. Authority coordinates are 42.480, -83.027. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1853, 2012 and 1854.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “St. Clement Church and School”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow St. Clement Church and School primary sources, St. Clement Church and School archive and Clement research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “St. Clement Church and School” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.