Our History

Over a hundred years have slipped by since a small band of Ely Catholics gathered together to start a subscription for a church and rectory.  Only fifteen Catholic families lived in Ely at the time.  Leading the effort was Ellen Hayes who ran a small hotel or boarding house, a general store, laundry and livery stable.  Another leader in the group was Mark Requa, a railroad man to the core and founder of the Eureka-Palisade Railroad and also the founder of the Nevada Northern Railroad that stretched 178 miles from Ely to Cobre.  The noble and determined efforts of these early Ely Catholics led to the construction of the first Catholic church in Ely in 1906.  That little frame structure dedicated to the Sacred Heart forged the Church's rich history in White Pine County and paved the way for the construction of a beautiful new Church a hundred years later.


Sacred Heart Pastor Fr. Tim Wehn (1988-2001) noted "[t]he history of the Catholic Church in White Pine County begins long before Sacred Heart Parish was canonically established in October of 1907."  Indeed, the first records of a Catholic priest traveling to the Ely area describe Fr. Dominic Monteverde who was born in London, first serving as a missionary in northern California.  From California, Fr. Monteverde moved to the Austin, Nevada area where he built St. Augustine Church and there served as Pastor from 1866-1869.  From Austin, Fr. Monteverde moved on to the bustling gold mining town of Hamilton where he erected the Church of St. Peter and Paul.  It was during this period that Fr. Monteverde first visited the Ely area.

As in several areas of Nevada, White Pine County was settled and grew around mining camps that flourished after the discovery of rich gold and silver deposits.  Church building followed the establishment of these mining camps.  Churches at Ward Mine, Cherry Creek, and Treasure Hill served as centers for the Sacramental life of the area.  Mass was also celebrated in the remote outposts of Piedmont, Mineral City, Newark Valley, Shellborne, Taylor, and White River.  Historical records indicate that besides Fr. Monteverde, Frs. Becker, McNulty, O'Kane, Walsh and Hynes visited the wilds of eastern Nevada to celebrate Mass and tend to the faithful.  Also a frequent visitor to the White Pine missions was Fr. William Maloney, one of the principal founders of the University of Nevada then located in Elko. One historical record shows that in 1882 Bishop Patrick Manogue traveled from Grass Valley, California to visit the Ward Mine mining camp. Bishop Lawrence Scanlan frequently visited the White Pine mining camps and towns during the period 1870-1915. As the once rich mineral deposits were exhausted, these mining camps faded into history, leaving behind only a broken brick wall, perhaps a stone cabin or a pile of tin cans and broken bottles to document their times. 

Out of the colorful history of the surrounding mining towns and camps, the centrally located town of Ely was born where it moved from an obscure existance as a "jerkwater" station to the county seat in1887 after the then county seat of Hamilton suffered a devastating fire.   By the end of 1887, Ely boasted a population of 200.  Little did anyone know that Ely's fortunes were about to change.

As the industrial needs of our Nation began calling for minerals to support the growth and production of our national industries, the demand for copper became insatiable.  With that demand came continuing mineral exploration in White Pine County with the subsequent discovery of a large copper deposit west of Ely.  The development of that copper deposit brought many jobs to the area and by 1907 Ely's population surged to an estimated 5,000.  With the population growth the number of parishoners attending Mass outgrew Miss Hayes' living room.  Thus was born the effort to build a Church and in 1906 Sacred Heart Church opened it doors to the Faithful.

The ordination of Bishop Robert J. Dwyer of the Diocese of Reno in 1953 brought his encouragement to build parochial schools across Nevada. With a donation of 26 acres of land by J.B. (Babe) Pescio, a local rancher, a subscription of funds and the generosity of six Sisters of Mercy from Longford, Ireland who relocated to Ely to teach at the school, Sacred Heart Elementary School opened its doors in the Fall of 1958 and endured until its closing in 1998.

In 1993, Fr. Tim Wehn initiated a drive to build a new Church. Time, settling and use began to show on the original Church. That drive raised $450,000 of which nearly a third went to structural repairs of the exisiting Church and for other Parish obligations.  The new Church drive continued with substantial donations from two estates: paving contractors Angelo and Thelma Reck bequested $1,190,520 to the new Church effort and Ford agency owners Hunt and Jeannie Barnard bequested $1,742,603 to the effort.  With planning and logistics overseen by Our Native Son, Fr. Caesar J. Caviglia, the new Sacred Heart Church was built and was dedicated on May 15, 2006 by Bishop Joseph A. Pepe.  Over these past hundred plus years, the Church has seen thousands of marriages and baptisms.  Thousands have received Our Lord in the Eucharist and thousands have been committed to their final reward there.
May our Lord continue to Bless the people of Sacred Heart.

                                   ( Historical Source - 75th Anniversary Remembrance, Fr. Tim Wehn, Editor)