Father Lawrence Kilroy established Catholic churches throughout St. Clair County during the early nineteenth century, and in Kenockee he founded a cemetery and the log church, precursor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, in 1853. Serving a mostly Irish parish, the congregation saw Irishmen form the St. Patrick's Benevolent Society in 1876 to raise money for the needy, with members subject to fines for dueling, mentioning politics during meetings, and missing the St. Patrick's Day parade. In 1897 the parish built a monumental Neo-Gothic church in Emmett, but that church burned in 1966 and was replaced by the present structure, completed in 1970 and typical of church architecture of its era. Father John F. Farrell served the parish from 1923 to 1966; when he arrived in Emmett, the parish included the church, rectory, and a stable. In 1924 he established Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, and soon afterward a convent was built for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe, who taught there until 1971. In 1974 the school became part of the Yale School District and was renamed John F. Farrell Elementary School. Farrell died in 1971 and was buried in the parish cemetery in Kenockee on the site of the original log church, and funds from his estate support an annual Archdiocese of Detroit scholarship for Detroit priests to study in Rome, Italy.