Editing Avoca, Minnesota (section)

==History==
[[File:Avoca historical marker.JPG|thumb|right|Historical marker in Avoca]]
In 1879, Avoca was named for the village of [[Avoca, County Wicklow|Avoca]] in County Wicklow, Ireland.<ref>{{cite book|last=Upham|first=Warren|title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog|year=1920|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n383 364]}}</ref>

A [[Catholic]] school for [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] girls ran circa 1882-1896 and later reopened in 1905 as a boys military school until it was destroyed by fire on February 12, 1910.<ref name="MarqCathMWNA">{{citation|url=http://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/NativeGuide/MN/M-101b.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304181642/http://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/NativeGuide/MN/M-101b.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2011 |url-status=live|title=Guide to Catholic-Related Records in the Midwest about Native Americans|accessdate=September 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/mur/id/135/rec/2|title=The Catholic School for Girls, Avoca, Minnesota|accessdate=September 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/mur/id/138/rec/170|title=St. Bernard's Hall school, Avoca, Minnesota|accessdate=September 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/05/joe-frisk-lost-pipestone-of-avoca.html|title=The Lost Pipestone of Avoca, Minnesota|accessdate=September 20, 2012}}</ref>  The town's water supply was frozen, which meant that the building was unable to be saved.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interactive Digital Map of Indian Boarding Schools |url=https://boardingschoolhealing.org/digitalmap/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[St. Rose of Lima]] Catholic Church suffered a fire in 1889 but was rebuilt though it is now closed and the structure torn down.<ref name="MarqCathMWNA" /> Three former [[Lutheran]] churches long ago merged into Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church ([[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|ELCA]]), which closed in August, 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dglobe.com/news/4479851-faith-evangelical-lutheran-avoca-hold-final-service-sunday|title=Faith Evangelical Lutheran in Avoca to hold final service Sunday|accessdate=January 11, 2021}}</ref>  The [[nondenominational]] Word of Faith Fellowship, established 1983, is the only church currently in town.

A public school was built in 1894, but is no longer in use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://photosbylmarie.smugmug.com/Schools/Schoolhouses/i-78zLTQr/A|title=Schoolhouses|accessdate=September 18, 2014}}</ref>

Avoca suffered two devastating fires, first in 1907 then again in 1952.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.murray-countymn.com/php/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=44 |title=Murray County, MN - Avoca |accessdate=August 13, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125045112/http://www.murray-countymn.com/php/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=44 |archivedate=January 25, 2009}}</ref>