Early squatters at Goose Island helped to found Immaculate Conception Church. Just east of Goose Island on North Park, the parish was organized in 1859 to serve English-speaking Catholics. Local residents, mainly Irish, raised the funds to build a church. A number of these parishioners were from Goose Island. We don't have a letter or reminiscence noting the central role which religion played in the lives of these residents, but the church and school of Immaculate Conception can in some ways be read as a first-hand account of the Irish shanty-dwellers on Goose Island. Steady, church and school supporting workers inhabit this picture. Even though they had little, they gave much to the construction of their church. During the 1871 Chicago Fire, which destroyed the church and school, the parish nuns took refuge with parish families on Goose Island.

Photographer: Unknown
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37314)