The history of St. Joseph Parish dates back to 1813. It began in 1819 as a small wooden church. The present church was begun in 1923 and completed in 1925. The ornamental plaster work carried on until 1931. The building is Renaissance Romanesque in design. (Information provided from a pamplet by Carolyn Portier Gorman) (Old Photos below are by E.G. Knowbloch,) My thanks to Eric Ordoyne for the use of these historic photos.

The church shown below was erected in 1847 and replaced a wooden structure that was built in 1819. The Church was seriously damaged by a storm on September 20, 1909 and ultimately was destroyed by a fire on May 25, 1916.

ORGAN: From Fr. Menard's Journal (St. Joseph's Pastor): 1851 "During the year, I acquired..an organ (the former {St. Louis} Cathedral organ). It cost $800.