St Mary Parish

Several years before Monroe County was established, the Parish of St. Mary was founded in 1788 by French Canadian Catholics, who named the church St. Antoine (St. Anthony) of the River Raisin. The church was located on N. Custer Road along the River Raisin, near Cranbrook and Frenchmen's Bend.

In 1839, the church built on current site at Elm & Monroe Streets and in 1845, St. Antoine was renamed to St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.