IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH:THE GROWING YEARS - Linda Higgins

The first Roman Catholic Mass in the area was served in the late 17^th century on Middle Bass Island for the Huron Indians, the region’s first known Catholics. They lived around Lake Erie and its islands, having been converted to Catholicism by Jesuit missionaries from Detroit and Canada.

Mass was offered again in 1749 to the Hurons at their settlement near Sandusky Bay. The Indian missions were abandoned when the Jesuits moved on. The French-Canadian missionaries, however, often gave silver crosses to native converts to wear, and some of these have been found in burial grounds along the Portage River, possibly evidence of more permanent missions here.

Wyandot and Ottawa tribes, probable offshoots of the Huron tribe, lived here when, in 1823, white men first claimed land in the area, settling as fishermen and trappers. The Cincinnati Diocese covered Ohio during this period and Mass was served for the settlers when possible.

Ezekiel Haines, who founded Port Clinton in 1828, had reserved block 16, lots 4 and 5, for a Catholic church. This site was located on the south side of East Third Street, between Adams and Washington Streets. The construction began, but a high wind destroyed the frame. Consequently, Father Joseph P. Machebeuf, founder of Holy Angels in Sandusky, served Marblehead and Port Clinton Catholics at The Germainia House, a hotel on Madison Street in Port Clinton. He wrote to his brother in 1832: “. . . I visit Port Clinton, a colony of French Canadians who live along the borders of the lake, the swamps and the rivers supporting themselves somewhat like the Indians.”

In 1847, the Cleveland Diocese was formed and included this area. Fr. Machebeuf moved west in 1851 and was eventually called the Apostle of Colorado, having become Vicar Apostolic and the first bishop of Denver. After Machebeuf left here, mission priests visited every six months to a year. A marriage would be performed by a civil authority and then a priest would bless it on his next visit. Incidentally, the character of Father Joseph Vallant in Willa Cather’s novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop, was based on Fr. Machebeuf.

In time, 12 Catholic families regularly received Mass from Father Louis Molon in Port Clinton until a formal congregation was formed in 1859. Fr. Molon bought two lots on Fourth and Madison Streets in 1861 and built a 34-foot by 68-foot wood church, dedicated to The Immaculate Conception in 1862. Father Verlet became the first resident pastor that year. Then, due to a shortage of priests (Few seminaries existed then and cholera took many of the priests tending the sick.), a number of different priests each served briefly during the following years.

By 1902, the parish consisted of 65 families, and a fund that Father Francis Hroch had begun was used to build a stone building at Fourth and Madison Streets at a cost of $40,000. Classes for children and adults were added as the church grew. Fathers Plumanns and Lang traveled to Catawba Island to hold Mass in homes, enabling the five Catholic families there to go to confession and make their “Easter duty.”

When the Toledo Diocese was formed in 1911, it served the lake region east to Huron and west to the Ohio border. As the Immaculate Conception parish grew, more improvements followed, debts were paid, and a permanent school built. A printing press was purchased and used to print a monthly bulletin, “The Immaculata,” while Reverend Father Kinnane was pastor, from 1923 to 1927. Then Father Karl Brand became pastor for 38 years. He helped the church and community through the Depression and solidified Immaculate Conception’s position as integral to the Port Clinton community.

The World War II era saw major growth here, due in large part to Erie Proving Grounds and Camp Perry. The parish’s rapid growth during this period necessitated adding room for a larger school-age population. Father Paul Mueller, the first associate pastor, and, later, Father Earl Schmidt oversaw a project that enlarged the sanctuary, added seating and attached the church to additional school classrooms.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church has continued to support the larger community’s spiritual and physical needs throughout the years since. It remains a vibrant church community, projecting the values that the early missions encouraged in all who worshiped here so long ago.