In 1854 Patrick Casey a Limerick Ireland lad came to Clarks Hill at the age of 17. After 2 years in the U.S. he settled in Clarks Hill. He liked it here and in some ways the word spread until 25 Irish families had settled here in this area of fertile land. Among those were Simon Scanlon, Timothey McLaughlin, James Fitzgerald, Philip McCauley, Cornelius Donahue, Hugh Brannigan and Robert Johnson with their families. Also John Hennessey and Edward Grimes lived here but later moved to Stockwell.
Ten years after Patrick arrived came Johanna Mahoney in 1864 who Patrick married. They became parents of 17 children, 2 of whom became school teachers here, Mary and Alice Casey. They brought their Catholic faith with them but they did not have a building, so they met for services in Mrs. Mary Donahue's living room who was a sister of Patrick. The congregation outgrew these quarters so Mr. Casey started a movement to build a church. In 1867 they built a tiny wood frame church. It was on the corner where the community lot now is. Land was donated by the town's founder Daniel D. Clark for the building to stand upon. They called the church The St. Rose of Lima. Priests came from Lafayette to conduct services. As time passed the priests came less often and the members died and their children moved away. When Patrick was 86 and wife Johanna was 76 they alone remained. The church closed permanently in 1920 and Franfort enfolded the congregation.
The little Church served for over 50 years. After it closed it stood for years becoming a dusty reminder of its original use. The church gave the property to the community assocition and the building was moved to be used somewhere else.
Patrick built a very large house at the West end of Pearl St. and it is still standing although in bad condition. It was there that all of their children were born.