One-half mile north of the small settlement of Custer, in the Township of Stockton, stands our
“little white church on the hill”, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
The area was first settled by Irish-Catholic immigrants during the early 19th century and the first
Mass was celebrated here in 1840 in the home of Owen Fehely by the Rev. Sale, S.J. There were also
Polish Catholics living in the area, who arrived in greater numbers during the 1860’s and joined the
growing parish.
For the next 35 year, the Spiritual needs of the people were in the care of missionary priests,
some coming from as far away as Milwaukee. When St. Stephen parish was established in Stevens Point
in 1853, the priests from that congregation visited the small Custer church quite regularly to offer the
Mass and bestow the sacraments. These priests also tended to the parishioners of St. Martin Church of
Ellis, whose first building was erected in 1857. St. Martin’s remained a mission of St. Mary’s until the
parish was dissolved in the 1970’s. Many former St. Martin parishioners then joined St. Mary.
In 1875, the church building was erected primarily by the labor of parishioners under the
supervision of contractor, Michael Herbert. It was well-built and still stands today, one of the few
original wood-frame churches remaining. The land for the church and cemetery was donated by Timothy
O’Leary, Sr. The rectory was later built in 1886 under the guidance of the first resident pastor, Fr.
Joseph Augustine Geissler, who served there from 1886-1890.
Bishop F. X. Krautbauer of the Green Bay Diocese dedicated the church on November 16, 1875.
The first recorded Baptism is that of Timothy Leary on July 9, 1876. The first wedding, performed on July
19, 1886, united John J. Turish and Bertha Prain. The funeral of Richard O’Keefe took place on July 8 of
that same year, another first. The oldest grave monument in the cemetery memorializes Mrs. Matilda
Conniff, who died April 25, 1856.
In the ensuing years, electricity and indoor plumbing were added, a hot-air furnace replaced the
numerous stoves then in use, and tin roof was installed. Under the leadership of Fr. Joseph Schafer in
1935, the parish unanimously decided to provide a basement hall and a better heating system. The
excavation work began on July 20, 1936 and was completed by mid-October. The Parish Hall has since
hosted a multitude of parish social events, funeral dinners and card parties. Additional expansions took
place in 1968 and 1972 in part, to enclose the front entrance and add class-room space for religious
instruction. As the parish grew and more classrooms were needed, a former public school was
purchased and re-purposed for the religious education of our youth.
Many vocations emerged from Immaculate Conception parish. Fr. Robert S. McCarthy, who left
Custer as a young boy, was ordained to the priesthood in 1942. Several women took vows as Religious
Sisters: Catherine O’Keefe (Sr. Mary Bernardine), Monica O’Keefe (Sr. Mary Mona) in 1917, Mary
Margaret Corrigan (Sr. Mary Faith) in 1922, Bonita Wiczek (Sr. Mary Narcissa), Sr. Marceline Zblewski,
and Sr. Anita O’Keefe who entered the Benedictine Order in 1959.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the many people who have gone before us. They worked
together through times of plenty and times of difficulty to ensure a place for worship and instruction as
a lasting tribute to the gift of their Faith. All for the greater glory and honor of God.