On March 25, 1874, the new church was solemnly blessed in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The lots were purchased for $1,000, & the cost of the building, including plaster & furnishings, was $12,000. Parishioners did most of the work, & many donations were generously given by the community of Washington.
1882 Mass was said on a newly donated altar.
1883 The first hot air furnace was put under the church.
1886 Parishioners donated five vestments & Saint Joseph's altar. Also donated was the communion railing made of solid walnut & the Blessed Virgin Mary's altar.
1887 a slate roof was added to the church.
1889 The spire on the tower was finished, & three bells were blessed. These are the same bells that we are still using today. The church added frescoes to the interior.
1892 A pipe organ,(the first of its kind in Washington Indiana), was installed at the cost of $1,000.
1894 A substantial iron fence was placed around the property.
1896 A new hot air furnace was placed under the church.
1912 Permission was granted, but later denied, to build a new church.
1918 The steam heating & water plant was installed in the church. Repairs were made. Painting of the church & tuck pointing were done.
1919 New pews were placed in the church at a cost $2,320. The sanctuary windows were replaced at a cost of $633.
1922 A new tabernacle, burglar proof & fire proof, was placed on the high altar. A new set of gold brocade vestments, chasuble, deacon's dalmatic, cope & velum, imported from Paris, France were brought.
1922 Beautiful stained glass windows, imported from Munich in Bavaria, Germany, donated to the church at the cost of $3,500, were installed.
1923 Asphalt for the West Van Trees cost the church $2,351. New copper crosses, one on the spire & one on the rear gable end of the church, were fabricated. The woodwork & metal work of the tower were repainted.
1924 The Fiftieth Jubilee Year, the frescoes in the church were washed & retouched.
For the next twenty years there was only enough income to meet expenses. These were difficult times for everyone. Both World War I & the Great Depression had profound & lingering effects on the parish.
1946 all exterior wood work was painted. The walls & ceilings of the church were painted & repaired. New lighting fixtures & floor covering with pads were installed. This work was completed in 1947.
1963 There were many repairs & improvements done to the church: wainscotting was added along the east & west walls & the oil paintings on the ceiling were cleaned & preserved.. The entire church was painted. The front entrance of the church was completely remodeled. The doorway was widened, & the steel doors were hung. New steps leading from the east & west were installed. The stained glass venting windows were removed & reset in aluminum, & the church steeple was painted.
1971 The church organ needed repairs that were questionable as to the effectiveness & cost. Donations from the parishioners purchased a new Allen electronic organ at the cost of $6,970.
1973 under the leadership of Fr. Raymond Schroering, needed repairs spurred action for a complete remodeling of the church's interior & exterior. A new altar, new carpet, lighting fixtures, & all the woodwork was renewed. The statues were refinished. The sacristies were updated. The walls & exteriors of the church were painted at the cost of $35,000.
1974-79 repairs were made as needed. A reconciliation room, expanded parking lot area, sides doors with ramps, & the rest room were added.
1984 Under the direction of Fr. Philip Kreilein, the church was air-conditioned, & the statues were repainted.
During the pastorate of Fr. Bernard Lutz, work began on the exterior of the church, primarily the bell tower.
Fr. Lutz was transferred to Fort Branch, Indiana but before he left, he set up committees for the renovation:
Steering: Greg Haag, Co-Chair Margaret Wichman, Co-Chair Thomas Schroeder, Vincent Walker, Sharon Walford, Kent Allison & Mike Wichman
Decorating: Rita Guy, Chair, Margaret Allison, Mary Colbert, Debbie Haag, Robert Heymann, Mary Norton, Liz Browning, Darlene Etienne, Toni Heymann, Yvonne Evans, Wilma Walker
Financing: Ginger Arnold, Co-Chair Charles Wickman, Co-Chair Shirlee Siler Arlene Sobecki Harley Burkhatdt
Fr. Ronald Zgunda became pastor in July 1991, & newly ordained Fr. Edward Schnur was assigned to the Catholic community of Washington. Fr, Zgunda moved ahead with formulating the renovation plans. Fr. Zunda joined the steering committee while Fr. Schnur joined the decorating committee.
1991 Our first Fest of the Harvest Moon was held in October. This event was sponsored by the Funding Commitee to build parish spirit. Any proceeds from the Fest were to be used for renovation. It was decided to approach the renovation in three stages or phases.
1992 At the March meeting the Parish Council endorsed the plans of Phase One of the renovation. A letter was sent to Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger who approved & encouraged Phase One of the renovation.
1994 At the January meeting the Parish Council approved the recommendation of the Steering Committee & Decorating Committee concerning interior renovations. The Parish Council also approved the Funding Committee's motion for a capital campaign. Thomas Schroeder, professional engineer, was hired to be the project manager. His duties were to oversee all work, make time lines, & report to the committees & to the parish council as the work progressed. Bids were taken on all aspects of the interior renovation.
1994 In February the Funding Committee announced a pledge drive to the parish. A presentation was made at all Masses by Fr. Zgunda about the status of the project & the start of the fund drive: The Final Phase -- A Capitol Campaign for the Interior Renovation of St. Mary Church. The projected cost of the renovation was $129,000. Since the parish had $53,212on deposit with the diocese , the goal of the fund drive was set at $76,000.The drive would extend over a ten month period.
On June 14, 1994. final approval was granted by Bishop Gerald A.Gettelfinger to begin interior renovations.
The pews were dismantled by volunteers on July 5. On July 6 & 8 seventy-eight volunteers removed & stored absolutely everything from the church. The old carpet was removed, the old exhaust fans were lower from the choir loft,& the old, unused radiators were removed. There were so many volunteers that the work was completed ahead of schedule . Volunteers also converted the middle school cafeteria into a worship space for the celebration of Mass each weekend.
Interior work was begun.
Walls & ceilings were repainted, places prone to cracking were canvassed, the ceiling under the choir loft was completely replaced. All old plaster that had been under the wainscot was removed.
Windows were cleaned, & new sills were fabricated..
The top three layers of the floor & old leveling strips were removed. The remaining two floors were power nailed with 4,800 nails. The floor was covered with a wire mesh, & a concrete-like product was poured over the whole floor.
The old pew ends were refinished, & new kneelers & seats were manufactured. The space between the pews was increased. The old seats were made into baseboards, tables, pedestals, candle holders & tables for the church.
The entire church, including the choir area & sacristies, received new carpet.
The sound system was modernized. Nine new speakers were installed. A hearing impaired system & a wireless microphone were added.
Lighting was improved. New lighting fixtures were installed throughtout, returning to a gothic design more in keeping with the architecture of the building. More flexibility in lighting control was added.
The west sacristy was insulated & dry walled. The cabinets were refinished. A larger work area was created.
Bells were serviced, & a new clapper spring was ordered to replace a broken one. The tower was thoroughly cleaned, & parts were painted & fire-proofed.
The space above the reconciliation room was enclosed & will now be used for seasonal storage.
The drop ceilings in the vestibule was removed. The closet & radiator were taken out. The doors were returned to original place, & new oak doors with beveled, leaded glass were constructed.
Stations of the Cross, from a church in St. Louis that recently closed due to urban renewal, were installed. The church was built about the time as ours. The stations have been repaired & repainted.
New sanctuary furniture was purchased through two special gifts. There is a new altar, baptismal font,ambo, tabernacle area, sanctuary lamp, statue pedestals, & chairs.
The organ was upgraded to current tecnology standards.
We wish to thank everyone who assisted in any way with the completion of this renovation project, We extend a special thank you to all the "Friends of Saint Mary's" who helped our parish achieve this dream & goal.
Most of all, we thank God for showing us the way & guiding us in our efforts to establish a space worthy of the name -- the House of the Lord, for "if the Lord does not build the house, then in vain do the builders labor."