The Catholic Parish in Thessalon was established by the Jesuits in the late 1800's under the name of St. Francis Xavier.  The first church building, built in 1865, resembled a log cabin.  In 1893 this was replaced with a pretty frame church facing the river.  In 1909 a brick structure was erected, which closely resembled the current building; the 1893 frame church was then moved by horse power (the real thing!) across the ice one winter to Nestorville (west of Thessalon along Highway 17); this building is now gone.  Then in 1936, thanks to an overly-enthusiastic janitor who stoked the wood furnace a little too hot one night, the brick church was lost to fire.  Soon after, the current church was built, with a few modifications, on the 1909 foundations.  These foundations are reportedly laid on quicksand, and while there's a bit of a tilt to the north wall, so far we are still standing!  In was in 1936 that the parish name was changed to St. Ambrose.  Our beautifully restored rectory (now rented out) is next to St. Ambrose Church, facing the Thessalon River, and also dates to the late 1800's.