St. Joseph's Catholic Church is a parish church of the

Archdiocese of Dubuque The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counti ...

located in

Elkader, Iowa Elkader is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,209 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,465 in 2000. It is the county seat of Clayton County. It is the site of Iowa's lowest recorded minimum temperature, on ...

, United States. The church and parish hall were both 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 1976.

History

Catholicism in Elkader can be traced to the missionary activities of a priest from Holy Cross in the 1840s. He also visited mission stations in Guttenberg, Garnavillo, and other communities. The first Mass in Elkader was celebrated in a log cabin where the town's post office now stands. The first baptism was in 1855. The first resident pastor of the parish was the Rev. Peter McGinnis who came to St. Joseph's in 1856. He purchased land and built the first church in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

which was quarried from the hill behind the church. The structure took two years before the church was under roof, and even longer before it was furnished. It measured when completed. with The pastor had difficulties raising the $4,000 needed to build the church. Parishioners had to stand or kneel on the floor until the

pew A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview ...

s were added. The three altars added to the church were constructed of wood. In 1876 the three brass bells cast in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

were bought for $1,800. A bell tower, separate from the church building, was built to hold the bells. The church was extended in 1887 under the leadership of the Rev. J. F. Reilly. The extension created space for a new

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

and

sacristy 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 ...

. The

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of the church was increased to 100.

Present Church

In 1897 plans were made for a new church because the old church had grown too small for the congregation. Thomas Byrnes, who had previously built the Keystone Arch Bridge and the Bayless Hotel, was awarded the contract to build the church. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

for the new church was laid on April 24, 1898, and it was dedicated on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

in 1900. The church, without furnishings, was built for $12,000. Another $7,000 was spent to furnish the church, which brought the total construction bill to $19,000. The dimensions of the new church measure . The top of the cross on the

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

is above the ground. The church was built in the

Gothic Revival 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 ...

style, and like the old church is built of limestone. The roof was covered in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

. The interior has three

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 ...

s and is separated by columns which were originally marbleized. The central nave rises to , while the side naves are . The ornate wood altars from the old church were moved to the new church and the three bells were placed in the tower. The ceiling of the church was frescoed with circular portraits of various saints. The

was 500. After the new church was built the old church was converted into a parish hall. Major renovations were made to the church in the 1960s and again in the 1990s. During the renovation in the 1960s many of the original furnishings were removed and the interior was plastered with Kalloite. An altar was constructed so the priest could face the congregation, as well as other changes influenced by the liturgical changes brought about by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. The roof was recovered with black slate in the 1980s. In the 1990s many of the original furnishings were brought back into the church and repurposed. The gates to the former

communion rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and oth ...

were made into table tops. The old sedalia was remade into a presider's chair. A new

ambo Ambo may refer to: Places * Ambo, Kiribati * Ambo Province, Huanuco Region, Peru ** Ambo District ** Ambo, Peru, capital of Ambo District * Ambo Town, a town in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia ** Ambo, Ethiopia, a capital of West Shewa Zone ...

, baptismal font and

ambry An ambry (or ''almery'', ''aumbry''; from the medieval form ''almarium'', cf. Lat. ''armārium'', "a place for keeping tools"; cf. O. Fr. ''aumoire'' and mod. armoire) is a recessed cabinet in the wall of a Christian church (building), church for s ...

were made to complement the church's Gothic design. The seating capacity of the church was reduced to 300.

References

External links

Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Catholic Church (Elkader, Iowa) Roman Catholic churches completed in 1900 Churches in Clayton County, Iowa Gothic Revival church buildings in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Clayton County, Iowa Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque Roman Catholic churches completed in 1856 Elkader, Iowa 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States