The settlement of the area that became known as Nossa Senhora da Conceição was first attributed to the Flemish nobleman Joss van Aard (which was later transliterated into Portuguese as José da Terra, literally Joseph of the Earth/Land), where he made his home, cultivated a small parcel, and planted fruit trees on the edge of Ribeira dos Flamengos (Ravine of the Flemings): Along his holdings was a large promontory that overlooked the Bay of Horta, and extended into the Canal that the Flemish colonists referred to as The Needle (Dutch: Spelk Maker), later to be known in Portuguese as Espalamaca.

In 1498, Joss de Utra (the second Captain-donatário of Faial), established his administrative center for the village in the deeper part of the Conceição, thus attracting a settlement wave.

Later, friar Diogo das Chagas, a noted historian, in his book Espelho Cristalino[4] referred to this parish having 594 inhabitants scattered in 161 buildings.

The historian Gaspar Frutuoso, noted that the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Church of Our Lady of the Conception) was constructed with three naves, and five columns on each side, and chapel located on its eastern quarter.

In 1858 the Forte do Bom Jesus, having been almost completely abandoned except for a canon, was requalified in order to house the new jail.

[6][7] The residence was ransacked by his descendants, sold off and occupied by the family of the Viscount Leite-Perry, losing much of its cultural importance.

The grand local church did not escape the tremors, and was irreparably destroyed: it was reconstructed in 1933, in a modest Art Deco-style.

For many years, Father Américo's project, the Casa do Gaiato, operated a home for abandoned or orphaned children in Conceição.

The southern limit of the parish extends from the Estrada Regional E.R.2-2 towards the centre of the city of Horta, through the locality of Santo Amaro, before winding down the Ribeira da Conceição starting around the middle of the sítio of Volta to the Atlantic Ocean.