The white, wooden church with a steeple sits on a hilltop overlooking Bodega Highway.

[citation needed] Archbishop Alemany dedicated the church on June 2, 1861.

In 1872, the original building was expanded by cutting the church in half, pulling the two ends of the small church away from each other, and then building new ceiling, walls, and stained glass windows to close the gap.

[2] In 1886, an 850-pound cast iron bell was added to the belfry, but it was removed when it was discovered that it was too heavy for the structure.

[3] Ansel Adams made the church the subject of a black and white photograph in 1953.