St. Mary's Catholic Church (Riverside, Iowa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Mary’s Parish Church Buildings
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Saint Mary's Church and Rectory
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | St. Mary’s and Washburn Streets Riverside, Iowa |
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| Area | 8 acres (3.2 ha) |
| Built | 1877 (original church) 1889 (convent) 1907 (church) 1908 (rectory) 1912 (school) |
| Architect | Martin Herr |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000946 |
| Added to NRHP | July 9, 1979 |
St. Mary's Catholic Church is a special church in Riverside, Iowa. It belongs to the Diocese of Davenport. You can find it at the corner of St. Mary's and Washburn Streets. The whole church area is a historic district. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This historic area is called St. Mary's Parish Church Buildings. It includes the main church, the rectory (where the priest lives), the old church (now a community hall), and the old school building. There used to be a convent (a home for nuns), but it is not there anymore.
Contents
The Church's Story
How Catholicism Came to Riverside
Catholicism first came to the Riverside area in 1846. A priest named Rev. John Alleman started a church called St. Vincent. It was about two miles west of where Riverside is now. He built a log church with help from local families. They also planned a town called Strassburg.
Riverside started in 1872 when a railroad line was built. People from a small town called Yatton moved to be near the railroad. They joined others to create Riverside. More German and Irish Catholics moved to Riverside. So, they decided to build a church right in town.
Building the First Church
St. Mary's Church began in 1876. Rev. William Purcell was the first pastor. The church was built with bricks made by H.L. Swift. The first Mass (church service) was held on Palm Sunday in 1877. At first, the church was part of the Diocese of Dubuque. Five years later, it joined the Diocese of Davenport. A rectory, a house for the priest, was built in the 1880s. It was located north of the church.
Schools and Sisters
The church has had schools at different times. Children from Riverside first went to school in Richmond. Joseph Fuhrman was their teacher. St. Mary's started its own school in 1878. Mr. Fuhrman agreed to teach there instead. The next year, classes were held in a building called the Tabernacle. It used to be a Baptist church.
Between 1888 and 1889, a building for both a school and a convent was built. It was west of the church. Franciscan Sisters taught at the school from 1889 to 1902. Then, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary took over.
New Buildings for the Parish
Rev. Bernard Jacobsmeier became pastor in 1905. He was pastor for 40 years! He started a big building project. The current church was the first new building. It was built in 1907 where the old rectory used to be. The original church became a parish hall. A second floor was added to make an auditorium.
The next year, a new rectory was built next to the church. It was made of the same brick. The last new building was a school in 1912. After the new school was ready, the old school/convent building became only a convent.
Changes to the School
The parish also had a high school starting in 1912. It closed in 1960. The grade school stayed open until 1969. It closed for a while. In 1978, the grade school reopened. By 1980, there were 36 students from preschool to sixth grade. Franciscan Sisters from Davenport taught there in the 1980s. The school closed again because of money and low student numbers. The parish later sold the school building. The old convent was torn down and replaced with a parking lot.
Modern Updates
Since the late 1990s, St. Mary's has worked with two other churches. These are Holy Trinity Parish in Richmond and St. Joseph Parish in Wellman. The priest for all three churches lives in the rectory at Riverside.
The basement of the church was updated into a parish hall. This happened when Rev. John Gallagher was pastor. An addition was built onto the original church, now called St. Mary's Hall. This area was also updated to create the St. Mary's Education Center. This work was done when Rev. Richard Adam was pastor.
Church Architecture and Design
The Current Church Building
The church we see today was built in 1907. It is made of red brick and designed in the Gothic Revival style. This style looks like old European churches. The building has a tall bell tower and a spire at the front. Each side of the tower has a clock. Below the bells, there is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Two smaller towers stand on the corners.
The front has three entrances. Above the side entrances are round arch windows. Fancy brickwork decorates the upper walls. Inside, the main area is long and open, called a nave. It has seven sections. The far end has a rounded, seven-sided area called an apse. The church has beautiful stained glass windows. It also has its original wooden altars and a pipe organ. Two murals were painted in 1937. They show the Twelve Apostles on the arches. The basement was changed into a parish hall. This added an entrance and stairs on the west side. These changes were made to match the original building's look.
The Original Church Building
The first church, built in 1877, is a simpler Gothic Revival style building. It is a brick building with a pointed roof at the front. It sits on a stone foundation. The sides have five sections. Each section has a tall, narrow window called a lancet window. The front of the building is balanced with three sections. The main door is in a part that sticks out slightly. There is decorative brickwork under the roof's edge.
At one time, the main entrance and the top parts of the lancet windows were closed. The bottom parts of the windows were filled with glass block. A new entrance was made on the east side. In the early 2000s, the main entrance and lancet windows were opened up again. They were filled with tinted glass. A modern addition was built on the west side. This part is used for religious education classes.
The Rectory and School
The rectory, built in 1908, is made of the same brick as the church. This two-story house has a sloped roof called a hipped roof. It has a porch that wraps around the front corner. The porch has brick pillars and a wooden railing. The windows have concrete sills and tops.
The school building, built in 1912, is a two-story brick building. It sits on a limestone foundation. It has a low hipped roof. The front of the building sticks out a little. The main entrance is set back inside a round stone arch. Above the entrance, on the second floor, is a Palladian window. On the north side, there is another entrance with a small porch.
