The Catholic community of Canal Fulton is one of the earliest to have formed in the Diocese of Youngstown, with the first recorded Masses being celebrated as early as 1812 in the home of local resident Matthew Patton. SS. Philip and James’ first church was built in 1831, and a larger wood-frame church building was opened in 1847. The parish received it’s first pastor, Father Joseph Lais, in 1862.
The first school building was constructed in 1875 under pastor Wimar Mueller, a single classroom for 12 boys and 16 girls. From 1883 to 1885, the school was staffed by Sisters of Notre Dame before being turned over to Rose Leaver, who taught at the school in multiple stints for more than 40 years, until 1941. Leaver was one of the first children to attend the school and for the majority of her teaching career was the lone educator at SS. Philip and James school. The school maintains a scholarship in her name to this day.
After Leaver’s departure, the Sisters of Notre Dame returned and taught at the school from 1941 to 1975. During this time, the school was enlarged to double its capacity, and a convent was built to house the sisters under the pastorate of Father John Maurer.
Father Maurer’s influence on both the parish and the school were immense. When the church building was struck by lightning and destroyed on June 13, 1947, Father Maurer—a skilled builder and woodworker—oversaw the reconstruction efforts and was able to reopen the church in time for Christmas Mass of the following year, for a mere fraction of the projected costs. He was known to put misbehaving students to work in his woodshop—under strict supervision, of course.
In 1975, the school was turned over to lay educators, and in 1979 a second floor was built on top of the expanded schoolhouse. In 1995, the parish introduced the SS. Philip and James endowment fund, which continues to provide financial support to the school today.
The size of the school’s student body has ebbed and flowed over the years. During the 1970s, enrollment was so low that the parish debated whether or not to keep the school open. However, enrollment steadily began to grow and it remained open, with 265 students enrolled at the school’s 125th anniversary in 2000. In 2013, due to the general population decline of Youngstown and decreased enrollment, the Diocese of Youngstown launched a plan to consolidate resources with the Holy Cross Catholic Schools consortium on the east side of Stark County.
Today, SS. Philip and James is part of the Stark County Catholic Schools (SCCS) system with 110 students between grades K-8, and the school has reported several years of growth. According to Principal Lisa Eberhardt, the enrollment was in the low sixties when she took over in 2022. In the four years since, it has nearly doubled.
Eberhardt credits the community of Canal Fulton for helping the school to regain its footing and remain continuously open for 150 years.
“I would say that the parishioners are an unbelievable support to our school, and not just financially but spiritually,” she said. “They’re always praying. We’ve got volunteers over here helping with things like children’s choir—those are all parishioners who are helping us out. It very much is a small family feel.”
Eberhardt also praised the local library, the mayor and the local police and fire departments for going out of their way to include the school in various ways, including safety trainings and holiday celebrations.
“Things that they might not necessarily have to include us in, but they always do, and we feel so very fortunate,” she said.
To celebrate the anniversary, the parish, school and community have planned several activities to “cater to each of our stakeholders”, Eberhardt said. Last month was a kick-off pancake breakfast for parish families, with students helping to serve, clean up and lead tours of the school.
Eberhardt says the students are thrilled to be a part of the anniversary and to participate in the celebrations.
“They’re so excited to be a part of it,” she said. “It’s hard for the littles to comprehend just how much time that is, so we’re trying to make it as concrete as we can for them. And we have quite a few families who are third- and fourth-generation, which is really cool to have their grandparents and great-grandparents talk about what the school was like when they went here and how it has changed and how some things have really stayed the same.”
Other anniversary celebrations on the books include a “Family Fest” to be held at the farm of a parish family, a reception for former staff on January 29, 2026, an alumni celebration on March 21, 2026, and a celebratory Mass with Bishop David Bonnar on May 1, SS. Philip and James’ Feast Day.
Also on May 1, students will be opening a time capsule from the 1976 eighth-grade class, which was only recently rediscovered in a bank vault in Akron after having been forgotten over the decades. The current eighth-graders will be making a time capsule of their own; Eberhardt says the school is currently working on what will go into the 2026 capsule.
In addition, SS. Philip and James students are going to be honored and banners hung throughout downtown Canal Fulton—the town usually celebrates it’s graduating seniors, but decided to highlight kids from the parish school in honor of the anniversary.
“That just kind of speaks to … how much the community supports us, and we feel really grateful for their support,” Eberhardt said.
Eberhardt feels that the key to a bright future for SS. Philip and James school is to preserve the community’s family-oriented values.
“I think maintaining those personal relationships with family, with staff—we’re all so close. I really want that to continue on, no matter what the size of the building becomes,” she said. “I still want it to feel like a family. I’m looking forward to that being ever-present. Obviously in the world of education, with AI, there’s constant changes, but I think that if you maintain the faith piece and the family feel, that will push us forward into at least the next 50—and probably 150 more!”
For more information about the school’s anniversary celebrations, please visit saintsphilipandjames.org
