St. Michael's has a very rich history dating all the way back to 1792. It was originally established as Cox's Creek Settlement and Gardiner Station in 1792, which is also the same year Kentucky became a state. It was established as the third oldest parish west of the Allegheny Mountains. The original church sat on the site that is now the cemetery. In 1806 it changed it's name to St. Michael the Archangel. Twenty-Five years later, in 1831 the church moved to its current location on land donated by Henry McKenna. The current church is well over 100 years old, having been built in 1883. And has been called the "cradle of religious vocations in Kentucky," by one historian. 

The original site of the church is now the cemetery and houses many interesting residents. Henry McKenna is a well known bourbon maker, who still has bourbon being produced to this day. He is joined by his family and is buried in the church's cemetery under the tallest obelisk. Mr. McKenna and family are also joined by the tombstone of a famous Revolutionary War vetern, Francis Coomes.   

The current location of St. Michael's Church and cemetery have an interesting origin. Even more interesting are the religious vocations that were born from St. Michael. One particular native, Catherine Spalding went on to found the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. She was followed by Fances Gardiner who would later become a Mother Superior of the Sisters of Charity. 50 of the first 61 years that the Sisters of Charity existed, the Mother Superior was a native of St. Michael's. Another native of St. Michaels went on to establish Presentation Academy, the oldest operating high school in Louisville, Kentucky. Spalding University in Louisville was also established and named after another St. Michael's native. Richard Pius Miles was also a native who later became the first Catholic Bishop in Tennessee. The first Priest of St. Michael's, Stephan Badin was the first priest ordained in the United States. He later worked in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. While in Indiana he bought land for a college that later became the University of Notre Dame. The first Catholic parish in Louisville, St. Louis Church, was founded in 1811 as a mission of St. Michael's. St. Louis Church is still in existence today, only it is now called a different name. It is now known as the Cathedral of the Assumption. Felix Pitt Newton was a native of St. Michael's who later founded the Pitt Academy which is the most renowned special needs schools in the region.

Several more natives have gone on to serve the Lord. The first resident pastor, Guy Ignatius Chabrat, along with four other resident pastors would later become bishops. Grace Newton Simpson was called, "one of the most extraordinary Catholic women of her day in all America," by historian Benedict Webb. There are currently four natives of St. Michael's who are still serving the Lord. Sister Grace Simpson and Sister Mimi Ballard are Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Sister Karen Hall is a Carmelite, and Father Malachy (Ivan Flaherty during his youth at St. Michael's) is a Trappist monk. St. Michael's parishioners have truly spread Catholicism throughout history and this region.