As taken from The History of Immaculate Conception Church
Compiled and written by Azalea Cuneo
December 1999

As I am an 'Old Timer', and there are so many new-comers in our praish, I thought this Sesquicentennial year I'd give the Immaculate Conception parishioners a little history of our parish.

In 1856 Father Foretnick was the first resident priest in Amador County and  took up his residence in Volcano which was a very active Gold Rush town. He visited all the towns in Amador County going even to Mokelumne Hill. He traveled on horseback or small spring wagon over dusty, muddy dirt roads. His successor, Father James Byrne, was responsible for the building St. Bridget Church in Volcano which was dedicated Oct. 24, 1860. That was 139 year ago!

Father Byrne traveled to all the mission churches  in Amador County and held Mass in Sutter Creek at the home of Mrs. Con Mahoney located at the Southeast corner of Spanish and Amelia Streets.  The Mahoney brothers, of which there were five, were very active in the constructing and financing of our first church.  It was Jerry Mahoney who donated the first load of lumber for the building.  I remember Annie Mahoney, a petite Irish lady.  The Mahoney brothers owned a ranch Northwest of Sutter Creek, where now parishioner, Alethya Rabb Collins has her subdivision.  The Mahoney family grave site is to the East of our church's front door.

The Immaculate Conception church was built in 1860-61 with Father Byrne as pastor, and, of course was a much smaller, rustic church than todays.  The first couple married in the church was Bob McClelland who was the contractor in charge of building the church and Miss Duke, a sister of Mrs. Margaret Fagan (Dorothy Casagrande's grandmother). The church was first known as St. Mary but was later changed to Immaculate Conception. In April, 1865. Father John Hodges was appointed Pastor but because of poor health was reassigned to San Leandro where he died on April 5, 1867 at the age of 29.

The next pastor in Amador County was Father Patrick Walsh who arrived in June, 1866. Father Walsh decided to move his residence to Sutter Creek.  All of the missions in the county were conducted from Sutter Creek from then on which included Volcano, Jackson, Michigan Bar, Ione, Amador City, Plymouth, Drytown, Live Oaks (their church was in the center of the cemetery located on Highway 16 just South of Rancho Murieta) and even Mokelumne Hill in Calaveras County.

Father Walsh is also credited with the rebuilding of St. Stephen Church in Drytown, which had been maliciously destroyed by a fire at the time of the Rancheria Massacre in August, 1855. The Sacramento Daily Union of April 9, 1858 reports that the California Legislature was to award $1000.00 to the Catholics of Drytown to help restore St. Stephen Church. In the spring of 1979, St. Stephen Church had to be torn down for safety reasons. The church's metal cross and bell permanently mark the site of the old church in Drytown.

In 1867 Father Walsh established a school in Sutter Creek with an average attendance of  30 to 40 children. In continued in operation until 1874. The teachers were mostly young women from Irish families. At that time, the population of Sutter Creek was 800. The lot on which the school was built (southwest  corner of Highway 49 and Amelia Street) was given to the church by Dan Mahoney and sold about 1900. In 1919, the Stribley/Noce home was on the lot and today it is a Bed and Breakfast, The Gray Gable Inn..

In 1866 Archbishop Alemany of San Francisco appointed a resident pastor to Jackson, but Father Walsh took care of the rest of the county.  In 1869 Father Patrick Walsh received orders from the Archbishop to go on the Utah mission in Salt Lake City. He was succeeded by Father Timothy Fitzpatrick, and then by Father John Quinn of Sacramento. Father Maurice Slattery  and Father Nicholas Power came next. On August 11, 1873, Father Patrick Walsh came back to Sutter Creek, remaining here until 1876 when he was succeeded by Father Patrick Power who took over in November 1876.

A plot of ground on which St. Joseph Church was built in Amador City was purchased by Archbishop Alemany of San Francisco from John and Sarah O'Rourke on Oct. 11, 1877 for one hundred dollars, gold coin. It is presumed that St. Joseph was built soon after. It remained in use until the mass there was discontinued in 1964. It was built by Julius Chichizola, an Amador City merchant. The church was decommissioned and sold at auction on October 26, 1980.

In October, 1878, Father J.P. McCloskey was the pastor in Sutter Creek followed by  Father Rafael de Carolis who was a  very zealous priest, beloved of the people. He remained until 1886 when he departed soon after for Italy, where he was reported to have passed away in 1934.

The next pastor was Father Peter Birmingham, who entered upon his duties in October, 1879, succeeding Father Patrick Power. Father Pat, as he was called, was eminently devoted to his people and it is said that there never was a more popular priest in the history of Amador County. Father Birmingham remained at Sutter Creek for nearly four years, when he was succeeded by Father E. Slevin in February, 1883, with Father de Carolis still acting as assistant. 

Up to this point, Amador County had come under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of San Francisco. It was transferred to the Sacramento Diocese in 1886. Bishop Manogue of Sacramento called in Father William Moloney from the Nevada desert to become the first pastor of Sutter Creek in the new regime. 

Father Moloney fell in love with the beautiful rolling hills of Amador County from the first day he arrived. He was born in Listowell, County Kerry, Ireland on Sept. 10, 1842 and arrived in Marysville in the summer of 1869 but was soon out in the mining camps, which seemed to be more to his liking than the work of a priest in the churches of a city. His brother was attorney-general for the State of Illinois and found it hard to comprehend how Father William could have given up a promising career just to be a humble parish priest in such a lowly and isolated region as Amador County. The cemetery on the hill to the West was bought from George Alien in 1888. The rock walls at both cemeteries and the wall in front of the Rectory were built by Father Moloney and remain a lasting  monument to his memory. Father Moloney was in charge of the parish for 17 years (1886 to 1903).

Father James Dermody succeeded Father Maloney and remained Pastor for about a year. It wasd during his tenure that the Parish purchased the lot adjoining the Rectory from the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Father Dermody left Sutter Creek in 1908 for Gait where he remained until his death in 1927.

Father J.V. Azevedo was pastor for a short time, from July, 1908 to October 1908, when Father Dominic Taverna was appointed. It was during Father Taverna's pastorate that the church was remodeled. Beautiful stained glass windows were presented by generous parishioners as were the Stations of the Cross. The interior was finished in a beautifully grained pine. Father Michael O'Connor succeeded Father Taverna in December, 1918. He was responsible for building the present Rectory. It was during Father O'Connor's pastorate that the Fair, a 3 day bazaar, was introduced. The "Daily Fair News" was published each day during the Fair. On May 15, 1919 the News carried a history of Immaculate Conception Parish written by Miss Rose Lawlor. The present writers have relied heavily on her efforts in constructing this more detailed record of the Parish. Under Father O'Connor's jurisdiction were Amador City, Volcano, Drytown, Live Oak, Plymouth and Sutter Creek. Though there was no Catholic Church in Fiddletown, services were held at Mrs. Pigeon's. 

Father Joseph Hanrahan succeeded Father O'Connor in September, 1930. He was beloved by all and his transfer in December, 1949, brought tears to many eyes. It was during Father Hanrahan's pastorate that the new church was built in Plymouth. It was paid for by Mrs. Irene Chichizola of San Francisco in memory of her parents, Bernardo and Mary Levaggi. Miss Leona Garibaldi of Amador City painted the Crucifixion scene over the main altar. It was donated by her family to the church. Bishop Robert Armstrong presided at the dedication on April 23, 1939. The original church in Plymouth was built in the early days. No exact record can be found.  

During the early years of Father Hanrahan's pastorate, there was still a debt of less than $1000 on the Rectory. It was decided by some of the ladies of the Parish to sell home-made candy to reduce this debt. The project was so successful, they went on to make enough money to replace the old rug runners in the church aisles with linoleum. Candy was sold as far away as San Francisco with the help of Mrs. Whelan (Mrs. Michael Gaffey's mother). The candy was made by Rose Siebe, Nettie Cowling, Mary Colla and Hilda Esola.

In the late 1930’s through 1949, a card party was held annually in July by the YLI for the support of the church. It was held in the beautiful garden of Lena Chisholm (just north of Soracco’s store), lit by Chinese lanterns especially installed for this party.  People came from all the neighboring counties, numbering anywhere from 50 to 80 card tables, to enjoy the card party in this beautiful setting.

Father Niall Harrington served the church selflessly from December, 1949, until illness forced him to be hospitalized in the spring of 1978.  He saw the parish grow in numbers with the arrival of many new people to the Mother Lode.  Tragedy struck the Parish when fire destroyed the church on February 4, 1972.  During reconstruction,  mass was held in Trinity Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church, and in the Music Room of Amador High School. Pledges were received and under the pastoral leadership of Father Harrington, the church was rebuilt.  It was decided at that time to rebuild the church in the old style and to build a new social hall as well.  The members of the Parish will always be grateful to the different county churches and organizations who put on benefits and gave generously in this time of need.  The church was dedicated on December 8, 1972.  The total cost of the reconstruction of the church and the building of the hall was approximately $155,000 and was fully paid at the time of dedication.  Due to the illness of Father Harrington, Father Albert O’Connor was appointed Administrator on April, 1978. Father Harrington passed away in 1981.    

In the summer of 1978 the Rectory was completely remodeled at a cost of $29,000. The rock walls around the church which were built by Father Moloney were completed in the spring of 1979 when Mr. & Mrs. Aldo Pinotti donated the Pinotti Steps, a beautiful new entrance to the social hall from Spanish Street. Further improvements were made in the Spring of 1980 when Monica Giannini donated a chain link fence to surround the new cemetery.  

In the early years, religious instruction for the children of the Parish was given by the pastors and lay people. In the late 1940's, Sister Ann Lubenko (formerly of Plymouth) and Sister Pauletta of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary in San Francisco came to Sutter Creek for summer school which was held in the Sutter Creek Auditorium and very well attended by the Catholic children. In 1960 our Parish was blessed with the arrival of two Philippine sisters of the Benedictine order. Through the generosity of Arthur and Elizabeth Telfer, the Sisters' convent was located on Dennis Street in Sutter Creek. The Benedictine Sisters were with us until the winter of 1964 when they were called back to their homeland. Then the Sisters from Placerville helped with the catechetical instructions of our children for a few years. The Canossian Sisters came to Amador County in September, 1969. Their first residence was 5 Spanish Street, Sutter Creek. The Tri-Parish Council was formed and the three parishes of Amador County built at 170 New York Ranch Road, Jackson, a Convent into which the Canossian Sisters moved in November, 1972.  

The Immaculate Conception Parish, which had a small beginning under Father Byrne in 1861, continues to grow. It has survived the Gold Rush and many social and economical changes of the past one hundred twenty years. The Faith in the Hearts of the People still lives on!  

More to come!