Organized as a mission in 1863, Masses were offered periodically by “missionary circuit riders” in the homes of people in Woodstock and North Lewisburg. With some growth in sight, interest was sparked to establish a permanent site for a parish in the northern part of Champaign County. Ground for the church was donated by Patrick Moran and his wife. They were among a group of Irish immigrants who followed the railroad to the North Lewisburg area, purchased parcels of land, and began farming. A frame structure was built under the pastorate of Fr. Nicholas Young.

In the 1920’s, the Mass schedule alternated with St. Michael’s in Mechanicsburg, and was certainly not to be followed without a calendar. “First Sunday of the month — Mass at 10 a.m. Third Sunday of the month from May to October, Mass at 7:30 a.m. From November to May, services at 3 p.m. (Note: Low Mass on Mondays at 8:00 a.m.) (Catholic Congregation of Marysville, Mechanicsburg, and North Lewisburg, by Rev. J. J. Kelly, 1920)

Fr. Charles Ford was given permission to celebrate an evening Mass on each First Friday of the month at 8:00 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church. A request was made that “every effort… be made to fully instruct the people in the regulation for the Eucharistic Fast for the reception of Communion at this Mass.”

Fr. Lonsway received the old pews from St. Mary’s Church in Urbana, along with the ceiling lights. These items brought about a renewed look at Immaculate Conception. About this time also, the stations of the cross from St. Michael’s were put up when he received the stations from the chapel at Mercy Hospital.

This was a time for seeking some cleanup and fix up energies. An ice cream social and flea market were undertaken to raise additional funds to make needed repairs on the church. Some local publicity opened the generous hearts of people near and far. Donations came in various sizes from wood carvings to a set of steel-plated front doors. Insulation and new siding were put on the church, and the church was warmed inside and out. Our thanks to all who helped make needed repairs and improvements!

The cornerstone of the church contained some artifacts from the time during which it was laid. Some of those items were “a few pieces of our national coin, several of our leading papers, and a glass bottle in which was sealed a small manuscript.” Perhaps this is a good place to reprint the words:

“In the year of our salvation, 1869, on the 12th day of September, the day dedicated in Christian liturgy to the holy name of Mary the Virgin Mother of God, the redeemer; and in honor and in invocation of that name, many people standing devoutly around, Rev. Nicholas Raymond Young, by the favor of, and in virtue of faculty granted by the bishop of the diocese, laid this corner stone as a perpetuate testimony to truth and faith. Pope Pius IX sitting in the chair of St. Peter, John Baptist Percell being Archbishop of Cincinnati; Ulysses S. Grant being President of the United States; Rutherford B. Hayes being governor of Ohio; the American people happily reposing in the bosom of peace.”