St. Nicholas is advantageously situated on a bluff overlooking the town of
Carver and the Minnesota River Valley. From the early 1850s, the area
was mission territory served by Benedictine priests from Shakopee. In 1868,
the parish received its first pastor. The present church was completed that
same year and was dedicated on the feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, 1868.
The parish has two cemeteries, one founded in 1872 about a mile from the
church and one adjoining the church, established in 1935. From 1876-1987,
the parish was served by Franciscan priests, from Chaska or from St. Paul.