By August, 1904, when a Catholic priest arrived in Fairbanks, all choice lots in the center of town were taken. Father Francis Monroe, a Jesuit missionary, selected land at the edge of town, bordering the Chena River. The first Roman Catholic Church in the interior of Alaska, a small frame building, was hastily constructed during September and October.

Two years later, a hospital was built across the river by the church. To consolidate their community services, the Very Reverend Raphael Crimont, the Prefect Apostolic of Alaska, directed in 1911 that the church be moved across the river. The contractor engaged to move the church intended to construct a bridge over the river. Father Monroe vetoed the plan and took charge. The church was rolled across the ice and set on its present site in November.

The Immaculate Conception Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1976.

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