The
Church of the Immaculate Conception, 1861.
This simple wooden church was built to serve Eckley's
first Roman Catholics, primarily Irish. The altar was
consecrated on October 25, 1861, by Bishop Wood of Philadelphia.
At first the church was a mission of St. Joseph's Church,
Laurytown, and was part of the Diocese of Philadelphia.
Immaculate Conception became a parish church when Father
Noonan was appointed as the first pastor in 1862,assisted by Father Mullen. In 1867 it was placed
in the newly created Diocese of Scranton. By 1930 the congregation of Immaculate Conception had
declined. Its mission church, St. Anne's, at Woodside
near Freeland, was better attended. As a result, the
Eckley church was suppressed, and St. Anne's became the
parish church. Services were held irregularly in Eckley
until the early 1960s.
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