St. Patrick's Catholic Church, located on Washington Street, has a long history in McHenry.
The congregation was established in 1840 but it wasn't until 1853 that Irish Catholics had a building for prayer and worship. Until then, Mass was held at the homes of local residents.
The original church was built at the cost of $3,000.00. The land was donated by James Gibbs.
In 1872, an addition added more space and then in 1883, another addition was built.
In 1922, a new church was built to the west of the original church at the cost of $70,000.00.
The little old church sat vacant on the east side of the property until 1946. It was deteriorated and was razed in June of that year.
Source: The McHenry Plaindealer 20 Jun, 1946 Page 1