Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Casper Wyoming

This Church was put in place in the early 1950s due to the expansion of the City of Casper, and has an unusual history.

The church itself was built during World War Two, and served as the Casper Air Base chapel, at what is now the Natrona County International Airport. When the population of Casper expanded in the 1940s, making a second Catholic church necessary, the real property where this church was located was purchased from Harry Yesness, with 10 acres of ground being acquired. The church itself was moved from the airport to this location in 1953.

Upon being moved, the church was substantially reconstructed and remodeled. Additionally, remodeling occurred in the past decade, given the church it's current appearance. The substantial grounds upon which the church is located originally included a small rectory, an office building, and a very small school. However, the school was never used as such. More recently (last year) St. Anthony's Tri Parish School was built on these grounds, and the city's only Catholic school is, therefore, located on the Our Lady of Fatima grounds.

Interior, Christmas Eve Mass, December 24, 2023.

Epilog:

I recently ran across this photograph of what is now Our Lady of Fatima at the Wyoming Veterans Museum at the Natrona County International Airport.   This photograph depicts the church as it appeared at the time it was an Army Air Corps Base Chapel.

This is an item, also as the Wyoming Veterans Museum, for base services. 

Post Chapel. Prisoner of War Camp. Ft. Robinson Nebraska

This is the second time I've posted a photo of a bare remnant of a church, but in this case, it's a much more recent structure. This is where the Post Chapel for the Prisoner of War Camp at Ft. Robinson Nebraska once was.  None of the original structures of the POW camp remain, and most is grass prairie, but where the chapel was is now this small stand of bushes.

Chapel, Ft. Phil Kearny, Wyoming

This will, undoubtedly, be an unusual entry here. Where's the church?

Well, this is where it was. This was the location of Ft. Phil Kearny's post chapel. The entire post was destroyed after the Army evacuated this post as a result of the settlement that resulted ending Red Cloud's War. The destruction of the post left the locations of fort structures, and even the dimensions of the fort, a mystery up until quite recently.

This was an Army chapel, so I don't know if we can say if it had a denomination, but the Army chaplain stationed here, who also taught at the post grade school, was a Methodist minister.

Ft. Phil Kearny was constructed in 1866.

Post Church, Ft. Douglas Utah.

The post church located on the grounds of the former Ft. Douglas, Utah, now part of the campus of the University of Utah.

I am unsure of the denomination, but I suspect it was an Episcopal Church. I'm not sure if it is an actively used church at the present, but at least externally, it is well preserved.