Wexford Immaculate Conception Church

The Immaculate Conception Church at Wexford is reportedly the oldest Catholic Church site between Dubuque, Iowa and St. Paul, Minnesota. Located 9 miles south of Lansing just off the Great River Road, this little stone church is perfectly perched above a charismatic Allamakee County valley. A creek runs along nearby, the sun cascades over the woodland, the road hugs the landscape and it isn't hard to see why Irish settlers chose this special site to start their community. The church's simple, elegant interior is full of calm, especially when the late afternoon beams of sunlight stream through the intricate stained glass. Make sure to notice the framed port record on the back wall which lists all the Ticonderoga ship passengers who sailed from Liverpool, England to New Orleans in the winter of 1850. It is many of these listed individuals who deemed this valley their final destination. They constructed a small log church in 1851 under the direction of their pastor Father Thomas Hore. The church you see standing today, completed in 1870, was the third church built at this location.

There is still an active congregation at Wexford, made of approximately 90-100 parishioners. Contact the pastor at the church office 563-538-4171 to request a guided tour. The mass schedule and weekly bulletin can be found at http://icwexford.org/ic_wexford.php