History of Good Shepherd Catholic Church and Convent – Now the Ferguson Community Center and Ferguson Historical Society History House

Like many other areas around St. Louis after WWII, Ferguson began to see a huge influx of young, Catholic families who were generally wanting to move out of the city after the war. There was available farm land to be developed and as the people came to this area, so did the Catholic Church. The oldest Catholic Church in Ferguson was Sts. John & James, built in the 1920s. Powell W. Chambers of the prominent Ferguson Chambers family, donated $40,000 in 1925 to have the school building at John & James built. By the early 1950s Sts. John & James could no longer handle the large number of parishioners and school children, so the St. Louis Archdiocese began to build more parishes. Good Shepherd was one of them. 

The first mass was held in March 1959. The convent was completed in late1959 and six nuns moved in – the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (R.S.H.M.) The school opened in the fall of 1959 with 264 children. By 1962, just two years later, the school wasn’t big enough and a new addition was built. 

In the mid-1980s Good Shepherd Parish and School was still a relatively lively church. Three nuns lived in the convent, one of them was the principal of the school. By the early 1990s, more and more parishioners and young families began moving further west – many to St. Charles County.  

In 2005, the Archdiocese of St. Louis closed Good Shepherd, along with several other area Catholic churches in North St. Louis County – the same churches that had been built in the 1950s and 60s when the population was booming in this area. A total of six Catholic churches were merged together to form a new parish and school, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, also known as BTC, with the main parish and school operating out of the former site of Sts. John & James. 

For several years, BTC used this complex as part of their parish. Masses were held and other activities went on. The writing was on the wall though. With the Catholic population continuing to decline, using this church and complex in addition to the main campus across town couldn’t be maintained. 

In 2012, the City of Ferguson purchased this complex – church, school, and convent – from the Archdiocese. Around the same time, the rectory, a home located across the street from the church, was sold.  

The complex is once again a busy place. Run by the Ferguson Parks and Recreation Department, Good Shepherd Church is now an event center. The former school is the community center with meeting spaces, a gym, outdoor playground, walking path, fitness center, and active senior center. The building is very busy during the camp program held every summer. The former convent, a mid-century home directly behind the community center is now the historical society’s History House where we maintain an archive as well as our museum of Ferguson relics and historical documents all donated by current and former Ferguson residents. It boasts the original 1960s kitchen with beautiful turquoise cabinetry and black and white checkered floor. We highlight many former Ferguson businesses in our archive room and on the back outside walls of the house with our collection of vintage Ferguson business signs. Our collection continues to grow as we accept any donations pertaining to the history of Ferguson. We have many visitors during the year who want to come and learn more about the rich and sometimes difficult history that we have.