Saint Augustine Church (New Diggings, Wisconsin) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Saint Augustine Church
|
|
.jpg) |
|
| Location | New Diggings, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Architect | Samuel C. Mazzuchelli |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000057 |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1972 |
Saint Augustine Church is a very old Catholic church located in New Diggings, Wisconsin. It was built in 1844, a time when many people came to the area to mine for lead. A special priest named Father Samuel Mazzuchelli designed the church. What makes this church amazing is that it still looks almost exactly the same as it did when it was first built!
Contents
Who Was Father Samuel Mazzuchelli?
Carlo Gaetano Samuele Mazzuchelli was born in Milan, Italy in 1806. He joined a religious group called the Dominican Order. When he was 22, he traveled all the way to America. He became a priest in 1830.
Father Mazzuchelli worked for five years in places like Upper Michigan and northern Wisconsin. After that, he moved to the lead-mining area. He was a missionary and priest to many miners and settlers who lived far apart. Father Mazzuchelli started more than 35 church communities. He also designed buildings for about 20 to 25 of them!
Building the Church
The Saint Augustine church community began in 1835. The church building you see today was finished in 1844. Father Mazzuchelli designed it himself. He was not a trained architect, but he mixed different building styles in a way that looked very nice. One expert, Richard Perrin, said this church is "one of the genuine architectural gems in the state of Wisconsin." He also called it "an important element of Wisconsin's cultural legacy."
What Does the Church Look Like?
.jpg)
The church is a small building made of wood, sitting on a foundation of limestone. The main shape of the building looks like Greek Revival architecture. You can see this in its low-sloped roof and the way the roof edges turn back at the corners.
However, some smaller parts of the church have a Gothic Revival style. Look closely at the pointed arches above the door and windows. You can also see pointed shapes in the decorative columns on the corners. The outside walls are covered with wood planks that are grooved to look like large stone blocks. The church's exterior has never been painted, so you see the natural wood. On top of the church is a simple bell tower with a small cross.
Inside the Church
Inside Saint Augustine Church, you can still see the original simple wooden pews. The railings around the altar are also original and beautifully carved. Behind the altar, there were once three rooms. These rooms were where the priest could stay when he visited the village. In 1847, Father Mazzuchelli even opened a school in these rooms. Nuns from the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters taught at this small school.
Keeping the Church Alive
In the 1960s, a group called the Knights of Columbus started working to restore the church. They rebuilt the foundation and fixed some parts of the bell tower. Even after 120 years, they found that most of the church's structure and wood were still in good condition. Since then, another group of Knights of Columbus from Lancaster, Wisconsin has continued the restoration work.
Today, Saint Augustine Church is part of the Diocese of Madison. It has not been an active church community for over 100 years. Many of Father Mazzuchelli's other church buildings still exist, but they have been changed over time. Saint Augustine Church is special because it remains unchanged. This makes it a very important historical place connected to Father Mazzuchelli. Many people still visit it.
The church is open to visitors on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Every year, a special memorial Mass is held there on the last Sunday of August. Many historical items from Father Mazzuchelli, like old books, records, and letters, are kept safe in archives at Sinsinawa Mound in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.
