St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church is a historic church at County Highway Q and Rich Road in Shields, Wisconsin.

Architecture

The church was designed by James Clancy of Hubbleton in the

Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...

style, and constructed by local craftsmen and parishioners of cream brick and wood. The

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

is louvred with a shingled spire, resting on the gabled roof over the main entrance. A key feature of 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 ...

are ten pointed-arch

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows, added at some time after 1895, each set with a different Christian symbol in the arch and dedicated to a different individual or family. The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

was donated in 1899 and features a triptych back.

History

The village of Richwood and its surrounding area was settled by Irish and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s in the mid-19th century, but the only church serving the community was St. Bernard's in Watertown, almost ten miles away. A Patrick Norton donated an acre of land for the construction of a church, and the cornerstone was laid on July 3, 1864. In 1952, the

Holy Cross Fathers The Congregation of Holy Cross (), abbreviated CSC, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in 1837 by Basil Moreau, in Le Mans, France. Moreau also founded the Marianites of Holy Cross for women, now d ...

who had been administering the parish were removed, and the parish became a mission of St. Henry's in Watertown, then of St. John's in Clyman. By 1970, reflecting a decline in the rural population, the church was deconsecrated and the

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...

, of which it was then part, sold it and its rectory to private owners. The church was added to the National Register in 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Shields Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Wisconsin Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Roman Catholic churches completed in 1864 Churches in Dodge County, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Dodge County, Wisconsin 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States