In 1828 Missionary Rev. Simon Petit Lalumiere of the Old Cathedral in Vincennes celebrated the first Mass in Barr Township, Daviess County, Indiana, in the home of Ignatius Spalding. For the next five years fhe continued saying Masses in this house which was located about one and one half miles from the current site of St. Mary's Church. A log building was contructed on three acres of land purchased from the Norris family and on November 25, 1834, Bishop Simon Brute dedicated and named it St. Mary's Catholic Church. Father Lalumiere was named it's first pastor. St. Mary's was the second Catholic Church built in Daviess County, and the third in Indiana. Members of this new congregation were from Bogard, VanBuren and Barr Township in Daviess County and many from Martin County. Early St. Mary's was the mother parish for seven other missions: Mt. Pleasant, Bloomfield, Scotland, Miles Settlement, Bedford, Bloomington and Shoals.

Under the direction of pastors, Rev. Gustav Michael Gennsz, who served from 1875 to 1879, and Rev. Timothy O'Donahue, serving from 1879 to 1890, a new church and rectory was build. The church was a beautiful large brick building, built around the existing church, and being 110 feet long and 55 feet wide and 110 feet high, with a 9 X 5 foot gold leaf cross, and had a membership of 600 parishioners. This church completely burned to the ground on December 27, 1925. Only the baptismal font was saved and is now housed in the current church. After the fire, a temporary church was ordered from Sears & Roebuck and was placed just South of the burned church. This building has been added on to and remodeled several times and is now the existing Chapel at St. Mary's today. A community hall was built in 1954 near the site of the original log buildings.

In 1984 St. Mary's celebrated it's 150th anniversary. From it's congregation, St. Mary's had eight men ordained priests and thirty women became nuns. From the Civil War until the present time, over 90 parishoners from St. Mary's have served in the U.S. military. A total of 19 Civil War veterans are buried in the church cemetery. After nearly 170 years of service to the Catholic community, Bishop Gerald Gettlefinger closed St. Mary's Church on November 23, 1997 and made it a Chapel. The Chapel is currently used only for funerals, weddings and a few other special occasions.