The spiritual needs of the inhabitants of Sierra County during the 1880’s were met by three organized religious groups – Methodist, Congregational and Roman Catholic. Church membership was low; only five percent of the population were official communicants of any church as late as 1890. The problem of apathy and disbelief was severe, but not nearly as bad as the Reno Evening Gazette, which headlined an article, “Sierra Valley Apparently a Hot-Bed of Heresy,” would lead one to believe.

The Roman Catholic Church, because of the doctrine that it was a sin to miss Mass on the Sabbath, was not confronted with the problem of apathy to the extent the Protestant faiths were. When the religious could not get to church, the priest took the church to them. During the eighties a resident pastor was continually in attendance at Downieville. He rode a circuit that included Sierra City, Forest City, Alleghany, Howland Flat, Port Wine, Poker Flat, St. Louis and Whiskey Diggings. The priest spread himself thin that he might take the Sacraments to as many of the faithful as was possible. It was not untypical for a priest to say Masses at Forest City at five and six o’clock in the morning and then travel to Downieville to say mass at ten o’clock on the same day. The priest would often hold services in Downieville, Sierra City or Forest City on Sunday, riding through the northwestern part of the county saying mass at places like Port Wine and La Porte during the week.

These long trips could be dangerous and it was not uncommon for the circuit priests to be seriously injured. In 1881, Father Kirley broke his ankle in a fall, and Father Claire was badly hurt when his horse and buggy went over the bank between Sierra City and Downieville seven years later. The Mountain Messenger’s report of the latter accident seemed to give an indication of the relative importance of man and beast when it noted that “the buggy was wrecked and the Father badly bruised, but the horse escaped without injury.”

The Catholics in the eastern part of the county were apparently not fortunate enough to have the services of a resident priest. The Irish, who had built a Catholic Church in Sierra Valley, were either moving away or dying. The church building showed up on the delinquent tax rolls in 1881–an interesting commentary of the controversy over division of church and state. When the valley Catholics did hear mass, it was usually from a missionary priest coming out of Reno.

It is said that God looks after his own, but the Catholics of Sierra City might have had reason to question the accuracy of this aphorism during the 1880’s. The Sierra City parishioners borrowed $1,500 to build a church in 1879, only to have it burn down in 1882 before the debt was paid. The church was rebuilt in 1884, and a belfry was added in 1888. Two years later an avalanche swept through the town and totally destroyed the church for the second time.

Churches cost money. When they were destroyed or when there was a need to build one in a new or growing settlement, parishioners had to provide the funds. Local Catholics would put on entertainment or “fairs” to which admission would be charged and the profits were then put into a building fund or were used to purchase items needed for existing churches. The Papists seemed to prefer musical concerts or dances as money raising activities.

Catholicism was apparently more successful than were the Protestant sects in gaining and keeping faithful adherents. By 1890, Catholic membership was equal to the combined total of both Protestant churches. This, despite the fact that non-Catholics among the general population greatly outnumbered the Catholics. Methodists had more church buildings, but the Catholics had more members.

Between 1866 and 1884, there were no Congregational societies in Sierra County. In 1885, the Pilgrim Congregational Church of Sierra Valley was incorporated with five Trustees. The directors were from the higher strata of society and resided throughout the valley. It is possible that the people who joined the Congregationalist Church did so in reaction to constant revivalist activities of the Methodists, and if so, Congregationalism, in this case, was tinged with a trace of elitism The purpose of the new church was to promote religious worship in Sierra Valley. Its principal place of worship was to be Sierraville. Rev. C.E. Philbrook was chosen as pastor and he held that position throughout the remainder of the period of discussion.