Although Tennessee had become a diocese under the Bishop of Nashville in 1837, it was 1848 before the first recorded Mass was held in Knoxville. Occasional priests visited the city until, in 1851, a parish was organized. In 1855 the Church of the Immaculate Conception, a simple stone structure located at the corner of Vine and Walnut Streets, was completed and formally dedicated. By the mid-1880’s a larger building was near completion. Construction was delayed, however, when the city fathers recognized that the imposing tower on the new Catholic Church, combined with its location on the highest point in the city, made it the logical place for the town clock. The tower was redesigned to accommodate the added weight, and the clock was installed and linked to the bells in the tower. The entire structure was completed in 1886.

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