The history of St John the Baptist–Holy Angels Parish dates back to pre-Revolutionary times when—in 1758—inns, taverns, and other accommodations for colonial travelers were built at the village crossroads, a juncture for several important roads. When George Washington and forces of the Continental Army marched through on their way to Yorktown, they found respite at St Patrick’s Inn, a log structure that stood on a site that is now the Deer Park Tavern. One of the first Masses in the Newark area may have been offered there by the Marquis de Lafayette’s chaplain, who travelled with the French soldier. The first Catholics to settle in the area were Irish immigrants who were ministered to by the Jesuit priests from Old Bohemia Mission (Maryland) until Delaware was made part of the Philadelphia Diocese. Priests from New Castle then took on the responsibility of visiting Catholic laborers in the Iron Hill mines and those involved later in railroad construction. In 1866, Fr William Blake, Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish (Elkton, Maryland), began celebrating monthly Mass in various homes. On the other Sundays of the month, many people traveled the six miles to Elkton by horse or on foot. However, when the railroad was completed, worshipers made the journey by railroad handcar. In 1868, a local Catholic, Charles A Murphy, approached the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church about their property at the corner of Main and Chapel Streets. On July 31, Murphy purchased the wood frame structure and offered it to the Elkton parish as a mission church. The church was named “St Patrick’s” and Murphy transferred the title to the church for the sum of one dollar. At that time, St Patrick’s was only one of 15 churches in the young Diocese of Wilmington. Bishop Becker, the first Bishop of the Diocese, described his churches, the Newark St Patrick’s among them, in the following manner: “They were all small buildings, old and poverty-stricken.” In 1876, a modest frame house was erected just behind the church to provide overnight quarters for the clergy coming to Newark. In 1880, during the pastorate of Fr John A Lyons, the floor of St Patrick’s mission church collapsed during the Christmas Midnight Mass. Fr Lyons decided to build a new church, which was constructed on the same site. While the church was being built, Sunday Mass was held in the upstairs meeting room of the Newark Grange Hall which is currently Klondike Kate’s Restaurant. Upon completion, the church was renamed St John the Baptist, in honor of the patron saint of the pastor, Fr John Lyons. The new church was consecrated on June 24, 1883, by Bishop Thomas A Becker in honor of St John the Baptist. In 1885, Justin J Pié, a parishioner and owner of the Deer Park Estate, donated land for a parish cemetery at the corner of Elkton Road and West Park Place, which still buries deceased today. Finally, in 1891, the mission of St John the Baptist was elevated to the status of a parish. Fr Frederick Campbell was named its first resident pastor.