In 1857, Father John J. Hogan was the first priest recorded in history to travel by horseback to Macon County. He resided in Chillicothe but came once a month to celebrate Mass. The first resident priest was Father M. Walsh in 1867. Between 1867 and 1920, Macon was served by six different priests at three different church locations.  The former home of Colonel Blees was purchased in 1920 when Father T. J. Barrett was pastor. The home was converted into the Immaculate Conception Church at the site of our present church.

Father Barrett established the first Catholic school in Macon in 1924. It was located in the same building as the church. The school was staffed by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.  Former students recall having to stand in the tower if they had misbehaved. In 1952, the Hildreth home was purchased and converted to use as the parish school. Monsignor P. J. Gilfillan was pastor at this time.

The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word lived on the second floor of the Hildreth house with the school’s classrooms being on the first floor. Many students remember the upstairs as being “off limits” to students.

Three different religious orders have helped staff the school: Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from 1924-1989, Sisters of the Most Precious Blood from 1991-2012, and School Sisters of Notre Dame from 2012-2014.

Due to the diminishing numbers of sisters, lay teachers began to play a more important role in staffing the school. In the 1960’s, Hester Lammers was the first lay teacher. Maureen Funk served as the school’s first lay principal from 1989-1991.

A full-day kindergarten program was added to the offerings at the school in the 1990-1991 school year. There were 10 students in the first kindergarten class.  In 2021-2022, a preschool program was added. There were 10 students in the first preschool program.

The 2023-2024 school year marks the 100th year of Catholic education at Immaculate Conception School in Macon. The students that have been educated at our school have gone on to demonstrate excellence in education as well as being of service to our community.