Five miles south of Doyle is a place known as Constantia, though not much remains today. In 1896, Henry Butters purchased the ranch and gave the place its name of Constantia. Butters transformed the place into a small village and next to his home had a small Catholic church built—St. Mary’s Chapel.

As a child, Roberta Turritin Weaver lived at Constantia from 1913 to 1923 and recalled: “The church was beautiful with stained glass windows and the pews were made from the oak trees in back of the ranch. As long as were in the big house Father Horgan came out several times a year. We were all very fond of him. My twin sister, Catherine, and I considered him a good sport since he put up with all our didedos.”

By the mid-1920s services were discontinued and the church abandoned. In 1994, the Doyle Historical Society moved the church to Doyle and restored the building.

Tim