The first church on the site was a small brick building on land donated by Graham L. Hughes in 1845.  Father Bernard Donnelley of Kansas City (or Independence, depending upon the source) was the priest at that time serving several missions.  This building cost $2,500.00 and was consecrated by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick of St. Louis.

Beginning in 1854 there was no resident pastor and Liberty was attended by priests from Independence, Weston and Lexington.  During the Civil War period, the Rev. Dennis Kennedy – resident pastor of the church in Independence - offered mass once a month.  Due to the jayhawker and guerrilla violence of the Civil War period, he made these trips at great risk to his life.

The first full-time priest, Father Edward Mallen, came to Liberty in 1911.  At that time the only other Catholic Church in the county was in Excelsior Springs whose priest had met the Parish needs of St. James once a month.

With a congregation of only a dozen families, Father Mallen encouraged the people to build a new church.  He provided local architect, Mr. LaPeer, many photographs of beautiful churches in Rome and Austria with the charge, “Make the best plans for a church that we could take care of.”  As Liberty was the seat of Clay County and as “First Monday” was the day when people from across the county arrived to shop, the ladies of the church began serving dinners to help raise money.  They made enough money to pay for the early pews.

Well, Mr. LaPeer’s plans could not be followed in their entirety, “Because we just plain didn’t have enough money,” but the building was dedicated April, 1914.  The mayor of Kansas City, several bishops, town and city officials attended the dedication with first services held Easter, 1914.  The original dimensions were 100 by 40 feet with towers exceeding 100 feet.

Stained leaded glass windows were added later.  Within two weeks of being asked, the funds for all windows had been promised.  The painting of the crucifixion on the wall of the sanctuary was completed by an Italian-trained, German painter about 1920.

Father Mallen retired in 1955 and was well remembered for climbing the steeple and painting it – at the age of 71!

The church was modernized in 1966 under Monsignor W. J. Blacet.  There were more than 300 families in the Parish at this time, having five masses each Sunday.

During the 1980’s, the building sat empty for several years and quickly became a candidate for the wrecking ball.

David and Mary Anne Kimbrell bought the arguably dangerous building in 1990 with the intention of opening a dinner theater.  That venture did not materialize so David and Mary Anne ultimately opened James Inn in May, 1993.

Kimbrell and city officials had conflict about the cross atop the steeple - officials wanted it maintained while Kimbrell felt it was far too damaged to restore.  About six months after the conflict began, lightening hit the cross and it exploded.

On May 4, 2003, a "high end" F2 tornado that was part of the May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence struck downtown Liberty and William Jewell campus heavily damaging numerous buildings.  The tornado had left significant exterior damage.  Substantial masonry repair, steeple repair and window repair combined with interior repairs and updates leave today’s Steeple Inn & Spa.

In 2007 Richard Held and Matthew Wilson, along with their business partners, husband and wife, Brad Johnson and Becky Price, acquired the building and in October opened Steeple Inn & Spa.

In 2009 Brad and Becky bought out Richard and Matthew’s interest in the business, but their legacy of fine accommodations and music will continue to guide The Steeple Inn into our future.

Thank you for visiting.