The Immaculate Conception Church in Hawesville,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, was a historic

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church building on Water Street. It was built in 1860, and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1975. Its 1975 National Register nomination states:

The Hawesville Immaculate Conception Church is an example of the determination of a small but devout religious group to build and maintain a church. The early people of this church maintained it without the guidance of a permanent priest. They worked until they had constructed a building in which to worship. The building was small and simple but surprisingly monumental, without any striking decoration, except for the traditional stained glass windows and the intrinsic beauty of the stone of which it was constructed. The church building expressed the simple dignity of a people whose religion was the focal point of their community as well as spiritual life. With .

River Valley Behavioral Health in Hawesville

The more modern church building which replaced it has subsequently been

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to b ...

; River Valley Behavioral Health now occupies the site of the former Immaculate Conception Church, which has not been removed from the Register despite the demolition of the original, historic building. The congregation still exists, meeting in a different facility in the Hawesville area.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Kentucky Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Roman Catholic churches completed in 1860 National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, Kentucky Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States 1860 establishments in Kentucky Former buildings and structures in Kentucky Demolished but still listed on the National Register of Historic Places {{Kentucky-church-stub