It is located in an unincorporated area known as Georgetown and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The area that would come to be known as Georgetown was settled by people of Irish descent from St. Louis, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

Many who settled the area came to build the first railroad west of the Des Moines River and they originally named the settlement Staceyville.

Jean Villars from Keokuk visited the area starting in 1848 and celebrated Mass in people's homes.

As the community grew, in large part because of Irish immigration, a new church building was needed.

Timothy Clifford and constructed of brick and sandstone in the Gothic Revival style by Carr & Cullen.

The small bell tower with a short spire that sits on top of the roof above the main entrance of the church was added in 1903.

A renovation of the church's interior from 1905 to 1906 included building an inclined floor, a pressed tin ceiling, new pews, altars, and statues.

The parish supported a school staffed by the Congregation of the Humility of Mary from Ottumwa.

Funds were used to pay at least some of the Sister's salaries, books (except for religion), equipment and other items per the contract with the state.

The school at Georgetown chose to replace the Sisters with lay teachers so they could continue to receive financial aid from the state.

As the numbers of clergy started to decline, St. Patrick's lost its resident priest and it was clustered with other parishes in Monroe County.

It has been run by a lay Parish Life Coordinator under the direction of a Canonical Pastor since the 1990s.