KHP_0316_Church-793×529

Knoxville 1850. Parishioners pose in front of the original Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, established in the 1850s just as hundreds of Irish refugees of the Great Famine arrived in Knoxville, many of whom came to work on the railroads. This photo is from 1886, but appears to include some of the original immigrants. Courtesy of Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.