Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish/John F. Farrell
Father Lawrence Kilroy established Catholic churches throughout St. Clair County during the early nineteenth century. In Kenockee he founded a cemetery and the "log church," the precursor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, in 1853. The church served a mostly Irish parish. In 1876 Irishmen formed the St. Patrick's Benevolent Society, which raised money to help the needy. Members could be fined for dueling, for mentioning politics during a meeting, and for missing the St. Patrick's Day parade. In 1897 the parish built a monumental Neo-Gothic church in Emmett. That church burned in 1966 and was replaced with the present structure, which typified the church architecture of the era when it was completed in 1970.
site number: L2131
era: Statehood Era (1815-1860)
year listed: 2003
year erected: 2003
