The first Catholic services recorded in Rock County were held in Beloit by Rev. Father McKernan, who celebrated mass in the house of Captain Powers.

The evidence

• “St. Thomas' Roman Catholic Church, The first Catholic services recorded in Rock county were held in Beloit, in 1846, by Rev. Father McKernan, who celebrated mass in the house of Captain Powers.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/13-beloit-churches.md, Vol. 1, PDF p. 299 / book p. 273

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources