The first Catholic church in this area was built on this site in 1914 on land donated by John Thomas Brooks. It was a white frame building with a bell tower and seating for 50 people. Travel to the church became easier when the men of the church packed shell on the sand across the road, giving it the name Shell Avenue, which it still retains. The adjacent grotto was built in 1940. A new church of red brick with a dark wood interior and a circular stained-glass window was built in 1942. It contained an electric organ, three marble altars, and mahogany pews. It was used until the present St. Mary's Church on Robinwood Drive was completed in 1972. This building has been maintained by the local Catholic church but is not open to the public.