Both buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for their state-level significance in the themes of architecture, exploration/settlement, and religion.

[3] The property was nominated for reflecting the settlement of rural Stearns County by Catholic immigrant groups clustered in small, ethnic hamlets dominated by a central church.

[2] The first Mass in the community was celebrated by Francis Xavier Pierz on October 22, 1854, when the town was still named Clinton.

The parish decided to build a more spacious building, measuring 66 by 150 feet (20 by 46 m), with the lower half consisting of native fieldstones and the upper half of granite brick from a nearby quarry.

Construction began in 1869, and on June 29, 1871, Bishop Thomas Grace consecrated the building.