Historic Catholic Church burned down during the Nativist Riots.
Founded by the Augustinians in 1796, St. Augustine’s was burned to the ground on May 8, 1844 by a anti-Catholic nativist mob who cheered as the cupola fell. A young boy had started the fire. Also burned was the Academy for boys and its library, housing 3,000 books, the largest theological collection in the city. Avoid sitting in the pews if you have a Sixth Sense that lets you “see dead people”.
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