About Us:

St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish began in a humble manner. The beginning of the Church dates back to 1828. Madias Roth, one of Darke County's earliest agricultural leaders, established a farm home for his family in section 24 of Greenville Township.This adjoined the present Catholic Cemetery on what later became known as the old Versailles Pike. Soon, the Roths were joined by other Catholic families.

The most Reverend John Purcell, then Bishop of Cincinnati, on one of his visits to this area of the diocese, hearing of this band of Catholics, stopped to inquire as to what facilities they had for fulfilling there religious obligations. He was the first priest they had seen since they settled in this community. Mass was celebrated in the homes of the various families. Later, the Bishop returned. Land was donated for the erection of a church, which was accepted by the Bishop who, in turn, granted permission to build a church of logs. This church carried the name of St. Charles and priests came from other areas to administer the needs of this little flock. This was between the years of 1840 and 1862. The parish continued to grow as the ensuing years brought more families into the area and it was not long until the log cabin church was too small to contain its members.

In 1863, they bought a small brick church on Elm Street between Third and Fourth Streets, which was formerly owned and used by the Baptist Congregation. Looking forward to the near future, when they would have a resident pastor, they also secured the lot on the northeast corner of Third and Elm Streets. The little brick church was purchased for $800.00, while the corner lot cost $700.00.

In 1864, they welcomed their first pastor, Father Charles Schellhamer. He immediately took the necessary steps to build a rectory on this vacant lot, and this building was later used for a school that housed the first and second grades. He also purchased the property at the southeast corner of Third and Elm Streets, including a framed residence.

The membership of the parish continued to increase and the old church was in need of extensive repairs. It was agreed to consult an architect with the hope of erecting a new church.

In 1889, preparation was begun, ground was broken at Third and Elm Streets, and the cornerstone was blessed and placed in position on June 30, 1901. The new church was completed the following year and blessed on October 19, 1902, by the Right Reverend Thomas Sebastian Byrne of Nashville, Tennessee. Multitudes turned out to show their love and respect to Christ and His Blessed Mother, in whose honor this beautiful church was dedicated.