The Rise and Fall of … a Church

The Rise and Fall of … a Church

August 12, 2024

1–2 minutes

*Post written by Mona Meyer, Archives and Special Collections Metadata Librarian.

Let’s take a look at the history of one of the churches in Evansville. The meaning of the title of this blog is literal….the construction of the church and its razing. The church in question here is Assumption Catholic Church.

Assumption was the first Catholic church in Evansville, established in 1837. After fundraising to build an actual structure, land was purchased at the corner of Second and Sycamore Streets, with the cornerstone laid in 1840 and the church completed the following year. Below is the only image of that structure that I could find.

This building was sold in 1871 and the “new” Assumption built on Seventh St. at the corner with Vine St.

MSS 181-1082, the Darrel Bigham Collection

**This image is undated, but it clearly is much older than the one above.** RH 033-124, the Evansville Postcard Collection

**This is believed to be circa 1905. It shows the church before the spire was added, sometime in the early 1900s.** MSS 181-1333, the Darrel Bigham Collection

The following photos show some of the beauty of the interior of the church.

RH 033-125, the Evansville Postcard Collection

**May 1965.** MSS 228-0539, the Sonny Brown Collection

**Close-up of previous image,** **May 1965.** MSS 228-0534, the Sonny Brown Collection

The church was sold to the city in 1965 and the last mass heard January 17, 1965. The building was razed in May 1965 to make way for the new Civic Center complex. The Winfield K. Denton Federal Building now stands on this site. The black and white images of the interior above were taken just before demolition. Those below show the razing.