St. Anne's Parish began on April 25, 1868 when a group of Catholic and Protestant men pledged funds to Rev. Michael Duggan for the purpose of "building a Catholic church in Goodson" Virginia -Tennessee (now Bristol) for Irish, Romanian and Czechs Catholic migrant railway workers to worship. Sam Goodson donated a parcel of land on Spencer Street, over the years known as Railroad Street. In 1873, the church was completed at a cost of $2,207.19. General John Mosby, known as the "Gray Ghost" during the Civil War was prominent in this endeavor.