History of St. Stanislaus Church

The St. Standislaus Church is a church located in the Poletown East neighborhood of Detroit, the current church replaced a earlier build from 1800s. Rev. Francis Gzella, who had emigrated from Poland to Wisconsin in 1869 was appointed the first pastor of the church. The original St Stanislaus Church originally the Bethel Church was purchased and used for over 600 families from Poletown as many moved to St. Stanislaus due to overcrowding at St. Albertus the 1st polish parish in Detroit from 1871. When St. Stanislaus was opened it became the 5th polish parish in Detroit. In 1901 a school was built on the site and by 1907 plans were drawn up for a new church, due to increasing membership and population increases in the Poletown area. In 1911 ground work began on the current church that stands today, while the church was delayed due to economic conditions the church was needed as membership had reached over 1,400 families in the original building. When the new church opened the former church became the parishes chapel. Both churches were used due to the population increase and a assistant had been assigned to Fr. Gzella so that services could be conducted simultaneously in the two places. In the 1950s church attendance began to wane as people began to move out for bigger houses elsewhere, along with this the construction of I-94 cut through the neighborhood separating Poletown East from Poletown. The last major factor for decreased attendance was the closing of the Packard Plant in 1956. All grades of the St Stanislaus school were closed between 1968 and 1974, due to declining enrollment and funding being cut for private schools in 1970 from Michigan Law. In 1973 the repair of the facade of the church and reconstruction of the front steps was part of the 75th anniversary celebration of the parish. However in 15 years later in 1988 was suggested for the church was subject to a reorganization plan as St. Hyacinth and St. Standislaus were suggested for a merger. While St. Standislaus was financially stable from events held in the church in 1989 the church was merged as proposed, a Detroit free press article notes “It’s heart-breaking to see it go after you’ve been here your whole life,” one member told the Detroit Free Press. “It’s like losing a child.” Members were dismayed that their wishes were being ignored, especially since they had never needed financial help. “We’re never going to open our hearts and pocketbooks again,” Elaine Tworek said. “You’re going to see a lot of fallen Catholics.” In 1990 the church was sold to Samuel Koontz, a pipe organ builder, however he past away in 1995 before he could see his plans through of restoring the church and hosting services again inside. In 1995, Promise Land Missionary Baptist Church bought the complex from the Koontz estate, and would use the church until 2012 when the church was lost due to foreclosure. It was auctioned off for $2,500 in 2013, and later flipped for $45,000 due to a small fire that reduced the price from a high of $79,000. The church is today used today as storage. A caretaker by the name of Stewart looks over the church full time. While friendly he will show the church to interested parties for a small price.