Rocklin’s Irish community began raising funds to build its own church on St. Patrick’s Day in 1881, and the building was completed two years later. Archbishop Joseph Alemany of San Francisco dedicated it as St. Mary’s of the Assumption Catholic Church on August 13, 1883. St. Mary’s served the Catholic communities of Rocklin and Loomis for 100 years. In 1983 the congregation moved to a new facility, SS. Peter and Paul’s on Granite Drive, and ownership changed as the building later served the Church of Religious Science and then the Baptist faith. Rocklin’s only remaining 19th Century public building eventually fell into disrepair on a Front Street knoll 400 yards south of this spot. The Rocklin Historical Society developed a plan to save St. Mary’s from demolition and restore it, the Keller family donated the building, and the City of Rocklin established Heritage Park. On Sept. 17, 2005, hundreds of citizens pulled St. Mary’s to the park, and two years later on Sept. 21, 2007, a new steeple was lifted into place, completing the restoration. More than 400 individuals and organizations participated in the project, and St. Mary’s was once again ready to serve the community as Old St. Mary’s Chapel.