The origins of Sacred Heart Church are intricately tied to the spread of the Catholic faith in Washington County. In 1794, a Catholic pioneer named Henry Montague settled near West Alexander.  His house became a center for other pioneers and missionaries passing through. 

In 1811 Father O’Brien, the first stationary priest in Pittsburgh, offered Mass in a log chapel in the area.  1813 saw the construction of the nation’s first interstate highway, the National Pike.  By 1818, the workers had reached Washington County.  To minister to the needs of the construction workers, as well as the settlers the road would bring, a Father McGuire directed construction of the St. James Chapel.  It was located on the Pike about a mile east of West Alexander.

St. James was visited regularly by priests from Pittsburgh and from Wheeling into the early 1830’s. In 1940, Father Duffy erected a brick chapel.  As time passed the Hempfield railroad (later B & O, then CXS) was laying tracks through the area.  For a short while, the construction workers joined with National Pike workers and the descendants of early settlers to bring the Catholic population to approximately 25 families.  By the 1870’s, however, the brick church was becoming unsafe. Most of the permanent congregation was in the vicinity of Claysville.  Land for a new church was chosen, that was close to Claysville, the railroad, and the National Road.  St. James Chapel was razed and sold for the material it contained.  Only the pews were kept for the new church – the same pews that are used today.  It is noteworthy that the Reverend J. A. Canevin, brother to a later Bishop of Pittsburgh, was pastor for a short time during construction.

The new church was completed in 1874.  The following summer, the Church of the Sacred Heart was officially dedicated by Fr. M. Domenec, with Fr. F. McCarthy named Pastor.  The rural congregation did not maintain a steady growth, so Mass was celebrated only once per month, on the 2^nd Sunday.  It was not until 1950 that a weekly, 10:30am Mass was scheduled at Sacred Heart. That has continued to this day.  In 1989, the parishioners dedicated themselves to the Divine Mercy of Jesus.