Mission Statement:

We, the people of St. Agnes, strive to be a welcoming Eucharistic Community, founded upon our faith in Christ Jesus. Blessed by our Catholic tradition and the beauty of creation around us we choose to:

Grow in and share our knowledge and love of Christ, and Embrace all people as Christ, serving their spiritual and physical needs.

History:

It was in 1820 that Congress opened the hills of Brown County to settlers. The rugged, densely wooded hills and the lack of trails and rivers did not invite much penetration into the area. Records show that there were scarcely more than a hundred persons who came into this region. The country was thick with bear, panther, wolves, snakes and other beasts that discouraged much human habitation. The 320 square-mile area was greatly affected by the results of the glacier activity. Melting ice, particularly off Bean Blossom Ridge, cut big valleys and the water flowed to form creeks, which are still evident today.

Brown County was part of the "New Purchase" of 1818, a treaty in which the U.S. government transferred the property from the Indians. Squatters came between 1821 and 1836, so that sufficient people had arrived to form a county. The county seat was Jacksonburg, which was renamed Nashville shortly thereafter. Population figures rose from 150 in 1830 to 2,364 in 1840 and 10,264 in 1850. There is no evidence of Catholicism in those early years. If there were Catholics present, they left no trace. However, by 1881 there were other faiths present in the county: Methodist, Christian, Baptist, Presbyterian, New Lights and United Brethren.