Our History

Our Beginnings

The Assumption Parish was established in 1858, making it the oldest Catholic Church in Howard County. The first church was built in May of 1863 on a two-acre plot at Vernon Springs. The church was moved to Cresco in 1867 because many of the parishioners had moved to be closer to the railroad. Assumption Grade School was introduced in 1883, followed by Assumption High School the following year. A new church was built and dedicated in 1930.

St Joseph's Parish was established in Cresco in 1870. A group of families built a simple frame building near the site of the present Notre Dame church, which was dedicated in December of 1870. The first resident Pastor was appointed in 1900, and St. Joseph Grade School opened in 1901. As more and more people settled in Cresco, the church became too small. A new church was built and dedicated in February of 1917.

In 1951, Notre Dame High School opened, serving students from both Assumption and St. Joseph's parishes - the first inter-parochial high school in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The school was closed in 1989. 

Notre Dame Catholic School and Parish was formed in 1999 when the Assumption and St. Joseph's parishes merged, eventually moving to one site (it's current site, and the original St. Joseph site) in August of 2007. Throughout its first ten years, a number of improvements were made to both the church building and the school:

• 2010 - a handicapped accessible entrance to the church complete with an elevator and handicapped accessible restrooms were completed

• 2010 - an addition to the school with six classrooms, a music room, and a library media center

• 2013 - renovation of the inside of the church was completed

• 2016 - an additional classroom was added to the school to accommodate increasing enrollment