St. Michael the Archangel in Madison is believed to be the oldest Gothic style building in Indiana and the second oldest structure built as a Catholic church in the state. Fr. Michael Shawe was sent to Madison to establish a Catholic parish, raised the needed funds, oversaw construction, and celebrated the first mass there on December 22, 1839. The church remained in continual use until the Archdiocese of Indianapolis closed it in 1993 during parish consolidation, after which it was donated to Historic Madison, Inc. Francis Costigan, architect and master builder, was a member of the church and may have influenced its design, which includes the rare feature of a steeple placed at the rear of the building. The brick convent to the right of the church, built about 1906, housed the sisters who taught in St. Michael School and is now a private residence. The stone rectory to the left of the bell tower, built about 1860 as the priests' residence, was constructed of stuccoed rubble stone with a brick cornice and a fully exposed basement on the south, and it too has been rehabilitated as a private residence. The school stood west of the church and rectory from 1905 to 1979, and the first school for boys was held in the church basement in 1843.