The former Saint James Roman Catholic Church in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, is also known as the Monument Church because of its original location next to the Bloody Brook Battle Monument. The building dates to 1848 when members of the South Deerfield Congregational Church split off to form their own congregation. The two congregations reunited in 1865 and the Catholic Society purchased the old Monument Church in 1871. The building was moved to a site further south on Main Street and became St. James Roman Catholic Parish in 1891. Once predominantly Irish, a later 20^th century priest described St. James parishioners as a “League of Nations.” The church building and adjacent parish house were sold in 2008 when St. James merged with St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic on nearby Sugarloaf Street to create the Holy Family Parish. In 2023, the town of Deerfield voted to purchase the old church using Community Preservation Act funds with the goal of developing senior housing on the property.

This postcard depicts St. James Roman Catholic Church as it appeared in 1911 before  later renovations altered its external appearance. The box pews and tin ceiling remain as reminders of the building’s 19th century origins while stained glass replaced the original windows and a dome with a cross replaced the original steeple. Augustus Vincent Tack, a nationally-known artist and summer resident of Deerfield, painted Deposition from the Cross, behind the altar, in 1925. Currently under restoration, the mural will be displayed at the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association.