Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church is a former
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
church of the
Diocese of Davenport
The Diocese of Davenport ( la, Diœcesis Davenportensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the United States, U.S. state of Iowa ...
. The church is located southeast of
Harper, Iowa
Harper is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 118 at the time of the 2020 census.
Geography
Harper's longitude and latitude coordinatesin decimal form are 41.3625116, -92.0510106.
According to the United States Cens ...
, United States, in Clear Creek Township,
Keokuk County. The church building was individually listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1986. The parish property was listed as a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
in 2021.
The parish was known in the Davenport Diocese as Saints Peter and Paul, Clear Creek.
History
German immigrants were some of the first people to settle Keokuk County. They were largely centered in Clear Creek and German Townships and their population, as well as that of the county itself, peaked in 1895. Because they remained independents they were a political force in the county and decided many county elections.
[ with ] Both townships founded
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
parishes in the 1850s.
Catholics in Clear Creek Township purchased of land in 1857 for a Catholic church and cemetery.
The parish was served by itinerant priests who would visit occasionally. The first Mass was celebrated in the log structure on the property in 1859, and the parish was organized in 1860. The parish started its first church building built of brick in 1863, which was dedicated to the apostles
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
. The old log church was used for a school until 1875 when the first school building was erected. A rectory was built between 1893 and 1894 for a resident priest.
The
Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi
The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi is a Catholic religious congregation for women founded in 1849. The motherhouse is in St. Francis, Wisconsin, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
The Sisters share their original founders with daughter congrega ...
from
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
taught in the parish school from 1895-1902. During this time plans for the current church structure were made. Ferdinand S. Borgolte from
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...
was chosen as the architect, and Harry Schroeder of
Washington, Iowa
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,352 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Washington was founded in 1 ...
as the contractor.
[ the Hammes family also played a role in the construction, The bricks were produced by Fuller & Schumacher of ]Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine ( ) is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000. The county seat of Muscatine County, it is located along the Mississippi River. The lo ...
.[ The cornerstone was laid on June 8, 1898, by Bishop Henry Cosgrove of Davenport. The church building was dedicated on April 18, 1899,][ and was built for about $10,000.][
In 1902 the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood taught in the school for a few months before lay teachers took over. The following year the School Sisters of St. Francis from Milwaukee came to teach in the school. A new school building with living quarters for the sisters was built in 1906. A new rectory was built in 1911. It was destroyed by a fire in 1930 when the present structure was built.
Two of the three bells were placed in the tower in 1907. The larger of the two bells weighs and cost $566.][ The smaller bell weighs and cost $290. The ]German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
was used until World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
for sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
s and church services, when Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
was not used. Anti-German sentiment brought its use to an end. The cemetery's decorative fence was added in 1919 as a thanksgiving offering for the survival of all eighteen of the parish's servicemen in World War I and the lack of any deaths in the 1918 flu pandemic
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
.[ The parish was one of fourteen in the Ottumwa Deanery that formed the Notre Dame Catholic Youth Organization in 1948. It provided social and other contacts for youth in the area.] Lightning struck the church's bell tower in 1950 and set it on fire. The damage was minimal. In 1963 a parish hall was created in the basement of the church.[
The parish school had 48 students in the 1966-67 school year. Because of the small number the sisters withdrew from the parish and the school closed.][ Ten years later the parish voted to join the Keota-Harper Catholic School System. During the pastorate of the Rev. John Hebenstreit (1969-1979) the parish council was established. He ended up being the parish's last resident pastor. Saints Peter and Paul began to share a pastor, the Rev. Robert McAleer, with St. Elizabeth's in the town of Harper. In 1983 the school building was torn down.
St. Mary's parish in Keota was added to the parish cluster when the Rev. H. Robert Harness was the pastor in 1988. The three parishes were officially dissolved on July 1, 1992, when they formed Holy Trinity parish. All three church buildings were initially used by the parish. As the number of Catholics in the area and the number of priests to serve the diocese continued to decline, the decision was made to cluster Holy Trinity parish with St. Mary's parish in Sigourney. At the same time, it was decided to close Saints Peter and Paul Church. The last regularly scheduled Mass in the church was celebrated on June 25, 2006, by the Rev. Marty Goetz who had been the pastor since 2001.][ On June 13, 2009, Bishop Martin Amos approved the sale of the church building to the Clear Creek Heritage Association.
]
Architecture
Saints Peter and Paul Church is a structure.[ The building is ]Victorian Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
in style and constructed in two-tone orange brick laid in a common bond. The upper portion of the exterior walls are a darker shade than the lower portion because there was an insufficient amount of brick fired originally. The foundation is locally quarried rock-faced stone. There is a central entrance tower, which rises , and was the tallest structure in Keokuk County when it was built. The exterior features decorative brickwork pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s and a mock cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
with denticulation. Two sacristies
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.
The sacristy is usually located ...
are located on either side of the apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
. The building contains period stained glass windows and has wood carved altars and pews. The 14 stained glass windows in the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and the apse were donated by parish families and they portray various saints. Donor's names are inscribed below. The altars are hand carved walnut with gold leaf trim. The work is attributed to Nickolas Juhl of Davenport. Juhl, a German-born Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
, was an accomplished woodcarver
Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...
who carved the altars for several of Davenport's Catholic churches.[
The rectory is a two-story frame structure in the American Foursquare style. The cemetery features an iron fence with a stone base along two of its sides. It was added in 1919 as a thanksgiving following ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. All 18 servicemen from the parish survived the war and no one in the parish died from the Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
that followed.[ Many of the grave markers in the cemetery bear inscriptions in German, which reflects the congregation's heritage.
]
Notes
References
*Peiffer, Rev. N.J. (1935). History of Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church of Clear Creek Township, Keokuk County, Iowa.
*Wiebler, Rev. W.F. (1958). Clear Creek: A Torrent of Grace; A Centennial Historical Sketch of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, Clear Creek, Iowa.
External links
Clear Creek Heritage Association
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
Religious organizations established in 1858
1858 establishments in Iowa
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1899
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States
Gothic Revival church buildings in Iowa
Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Iowa
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
National Register of Historic Places in Keokuk County, Iowa
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
German-American history
German-American culture in Iowa