St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Bauer, Iowa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church and Cemetery Historic District
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1 mile east of the junction of County Road G76 and SE 97th Street, Lacona, Iowa |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1876 |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival Late Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001580 |
| Added to NRHP | January 24, 1995 |
St. Joseph's Catholic Church is an old church building in rural Marion County, Iowa, United States. It used to be a church for the Davenport Diocese. The church is located near the small, former village of Bauer. Today, the church building and its nearby cemetery are a historic district. This means they are special and protected places listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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A Look Back at St. Joseph's Church
St. Joseph's Church was started in 1853. It was built for German immigrants living in western Marion County. This area was first called Newbern. Later, the small village around the church was named Bauer, after the first German families who settled there.
The first two church buildings were simple log cabins. They stood on the same land where the current church is now. In 1876, the beautiful brick church you see today was finished. People from the parish helped build it. They even made the bricks right there on the property! The stone for the foundation came from a nearby quarry.
Over the years, many things were added to the church. In 1880, special altars for the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph were put in. The church also got its pews and bells in 1881. The bells were made in St. Louis, Missouri. One bell honors all saints, and the other honors St. Joseph. Around 1900, an organ was installed. Later, in 1916, plaster Stations of the Cross were added.
For a long time, sermons were given in German. But by 1913, younger church members wanted some sermons in English. So, the church started using English more often. As time went on, fewer people lived in the area. The church lost its full-time priest in 1969. Eventually, the parish closed in the 1990s.
St. Joseph's School Days
St. Joseph's also had a school. It started around 1877 with a regular teacher. Later, nuns called the School Sisters of St. Francis taught there. A school building and a place for the nuns to live were built in 1904.
This school was special because it worked like a public school for a while. In the early 1900s, Iowa required all areas to have a school. Since Bauer was almost entirely Catholic, the parish school helped meet this rule. The state even helped pay for some things, like books and some of the nuns' salaries.
However, there were questions about whether the state should fund religious schools. Even though there were legal challenges, the school stayed open. The nuns continued to teach, though they had to make small changes to their clothing. In 1953, a new state law stopped state money from going to these parish-based schools. St. Joseph's school then became a fully private Catholic school. It stayed open until 1964. After it closed, the building was used as a community center for many years.
The Church Building: A Closer Look
The St. Joseph's Church building is made of brick and sits on a strong limestone foundation. It is about 60 feet long and 41 feet wide. The front of the church has a tall, square tower that sticks out. The tower has two parts, separated by a stone line, and a large stone cross on top.
You can see decorative brickwork under the roof edges on the sides of the church. The back of the church has two round windows, one larger than the other. The sides of the church have four tall, narrow windows called lancet windows. The roof of the main part of the church is covered with metal shingles. A small room called a sacristy sticks out from the back wall; it was added later.
Inside, the main altar is no longer there, but the side altars are. The church has many pews for people to sit in, divided into four sections. The beautiful stained glass windows show different saints, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Boniface, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Barbara, and St. Catherine of Siena.
Resting Place: St. Joseph's Cemetery
Right next to the church is St. Joseph's Cemetery. It's a large area, about 183 feet by 258 feet, with burial plots laid out in neat rows. An iron archway with "St. Joseph's Cemetery" marks the entrance. A path goes down the middle, leading to a special altar in the center.
This altar is made of stone and has a tall sculpture of the Crucifixion, which is about 10 feet high. On either side of the sculpture are life-size statues of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist. These statues are made of painted metal and are very old, possibly from before World War I.
The first few rows in the northern part of the cemetery are just for children's graves. The oldest grave markers date back to 1851, even before the church parish was officially started. The markers are made from different types of stone, like limestone and granite. Many of them are shaped like crosses on top of stone tablets or columns. Some are very tall, up to 6 feet high. You can also see heart shapes on some grave markers, especially in the children's section.
