My District: Has the World's Only Town Named St. Patrick.

• Author: Lays, Julie

"My District" gives NCSL members a chance to tell us about life in the places they represent, from the high-profile events to the virtues only the locals know about.

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

On March 17, when we aren't in the middle of a pandemic, Americans from all backgrounds and heritages pull out their green ties, socks, scarves or other clothing and celebrate all things Irish with parades and festivals, music and dancing, food and drink and, of course, shamrocks and leprechauns.

But there's only one town that can celebrate St. Patrick's Day every day of the year: St. Patrick, Mo., a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of the capital, Jefferson City. It's a tiny unincorporated community founded in 1833 by Irish immigrants. The town claims there are more than 1,000 churches in the world named St. Patrick, but only one town.

The village is best known as the home of the Shrine of St. Patrick, a medieval-inspired Catholic church built in 1956 through the efforts of Father Francis O'Duignan. It sits on land purchased for the church in 1838 for around $75. With a design patterned after St. Patrick's Memorial Church of Four Masters in Donegal, Ireland, the shrine contains Celtic crosses, semicircular recessed doorways, a central rose window and a round bell tower native to Ireland.

O'Duignan wanted the shrine to be known all over the world but needed help getting it built, so, in 1936, he designed a green shamrock cachet and stamped it on 500 letters, seeking help with the project. It worked, and that tradition lives on with thousands sending their envelopes to the tiny post office every March to get the special hand-stamped cancellation.

In the U.S., along with St. Patrick, Mo., there is Irishtown, III., Emerald Isle, N.C., 16 Dublins, seven Clovers, six Shamrocks and 16 Patricks, according to the Census Bureau. But even though St. Patrick's Day is widely recognized and celebrated throughout the U.S., only Suffolk County, Mass., and Savannah, Ga., have made it a legal holiday.

Missouri Rep. Greg Sharpe (R), who represents St. Patrick, Mo., farms 800 acres of corn and soybeans and owns a seed dealership in Lewis County. He currently lives in Ewing, about 30 miles south of St. Patrick. We asked him to share what he knows about the tiny Irish community.

What do you know about the history of the town?

The town changed its name from St. Marysville to St. Patrick in 1857. A hundred years later, there were more residents, a few...