St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Egypt, Ohio) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Egypt Catholic Church and Rectory
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Front and side of the church
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | Junction of State Route 364 and Minster-Egypt Rd., Egypt, Ohio |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1887 |
| Architect | Anton Goehr |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival, Sears |
| MPS | Cross-Tipped Churches of Ohio TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 79003455 |
| Added to NRHP | July 26, 1979 |
St. Joseph's Catholic Church is a very old and important Roman Catholic church located in Egypt, Ohio, United States. It was built in 1887. This beautiful church is home to a small Catholic community. It has been named a historic site because it is a great example of Gothic Revival architecture, which means it looks like old Gothic buildings.
Contents
The Start of St. Joseph's Church
The first people who settled in southern Auglaize County were mostly Catholic. This was before 1850. At that time, the area was part of the Great Black Swamp. This made traveling very hard.
The town of Egypt got its name from the hometown of the mother of some of the first settlers. John Henry Osterloh came from Halter in Germany. He bought land in Egypt around 1829-1830. His mother was from a place called Aegypten in Germany.
The people living in Egypt got tired of traveling about 4 miles to Minster for church. So, in 1852, they asked if they could have their own church in Egypt.
Building the First Church
The first settlers in Egypt were part of St. Augustine's Church in Minster. It was about 3 miles away. Because the land was so swampy, it was almost impossible to use wagons. Men could only go to church on horseback. Women and children often could not go to church at all.
Also, St. Augustine's Church was getting too full. So, people in Egypt wanted their own church. In 1852, three men went to ask Archbishop Purcell for permission. The archbishop said yes!
The new church was named after St. Joseph. Soon, people raised $800 to build it.
How the Church Was Built
The community decided on the basic design for their church. Then, they asked different contractors to give prices. Each contractor said it would cost $800.
But then, a church member named Henry Rolfes said he could build it for just $300, plus the cost of some materials. So, he was put in charge. After paying for all the materials, there was still enough money left to pay a priest for the first year.
At first, St. Joseph's did not have its own priest. Priests from St. John's in Maria Stein or St. Augustine's in Minster would come to lead Mass. After four years, a rectory (a house for the priest) and a female convent (a home for nuns) were built. Then, the church got its first full-time pastor. Since the very beginning, priests from the Society of the Precious Blood have served St. Joseph's Church.
Church Design and Features
By the late 1880s, the first church building was not big enough. So, under the leadership of their priest, John van den Brock, the community built a new church in 1887. It cost $5,000. The design was created by Anton Goehr.
Building Materials and Shape
The walls of the new church are made of brick. They sit on a strong stone foundation with a basement. The roof is gabled and covered with asphalt. The church's shape is like a Latin cross when you look down from above. It is three sections wide and six sections long.
The whole building shows the Gothic Revival style. This style brings back the look of old Gothic buildings. Inside, the church has beautiful frescoes (paintings) on the walls. The ceiling is also very decorated. The altars inside are also in a Gothic style. People enter the church through a curved doorway at the bottom of the tall tower.
Changes Over Time
Anton Goehr's design stayed mostly the same until 1927. That year, a tower and a sacristy (a room where priests prepare for services) were added. The sacristy is still there.
However, the tower was changed again in the 1940s. Its tall, pointed spire was replaced with a small, rounded belfry (a place for bells).
Other Buildings Nearby
Right next to the church, to the north, is the rectory. This is where the priest lives. At one point, the male and female groups of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood became separate. The male group gave all their properties in Egypt to the female group. This left St. Joseph's Church without a rectory.
A new rectory was finished in 1912. It cost $6,000, and church members also helped a lot with the work. This building is a two-and-a-half story square brick house. It has a stone foundation and an asphalt hip roof with a dormer window. Many other Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati built rectories around this time. They often look like the houses that people could buy from Sears Roebuck catalogues back then.
North of the rectory is the parish cemetery. A bit farther north is a building that used to be a parish school. Also, along the road between Minster and Maria Stein, there is part of the old convent from 1856. It used to be three stories tall, but now it is only one story. Its brick walls have been covered with modern siding.
Modern Times
In 1977, St. Joseph's Church and its rectory were looked at by the Ohio Historic Inventory. This is a program that helps protect old buildings. Both buildings were in good shape. However, people worried about the future of the church because it was a very small parish.
There was a shortage of priests in the American Catholic Church. This meant that small churches like St. Joseph's might not have their own priests. People thought the church might close by 1982.
But this plan was canceled! St. Joseph's Church is still an active church today. It shares a priest with St. Augustine's Church in Minster. Both churches are part of the St. Marys Deanery.
A Historic Landmark
Even though it was thought it might close, St. Joseph's Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. This was because of its well-preserved historic architecture. The rectory was also included in this honor.
These buildings were part of a group of almost thirty churches and other church buildings. They were called the "Cross-Tipped Churches Thematic Resources." This group included many properties in western Ohio connected to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
Historians have divided these churches into four groups based on when they were built. St. Joseph's is in the second group. These churches were usually simple rectangular brick buildings without very tall spires. Many churches from this group, like St. Joseph's, later had a single tower added to the front. This was because newer churches often had such towers.
Few churches from before this time are still standing. Only St. John's in Fryburg and St. Augustine's in Minster remain churches. St. Augustine's has been changed a lot by adding two towers. Because most churches in this area are tall Gothic Revival buildings with large towers, the region is known as the "Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches."
Images for kids
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Interior of St. Joseph's Church
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