School House - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish Historic District - Cedron, MO - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

County of school: Moniteau County
Location of site: Cedron Rd & Zey St., Cedron (ghost town), ½ mile W. of MO-D, and several miles W. of Jamestown
Approved listing: 4 February 2014

"The congregation supported a small parochial school on the grounds from 1857 to 1931, constructing three different schoolhouses (c . 1857, 1886, and 1900) to accommodate students. The c. 1900 one-room frame school is still standing and contributes to the significance of the rural church property. (See Photos 4 and 14, and Figure 8). The building faces south and is of gable-front design, has a stone foundation, and measures 22 x 30 feet. The metal clad roof is gabled and a small brick chimney, formerly used for an interior wood stove, sits at the peak on the north end. The entrance, a 5-panel door, is centered on the south side and is sheltered beneath a small awning roof supported by knee braces. A square window, currently boarded over, is centered below the roof peak. Three evenly spaced 4/4 double-hung wood windows are located on the east and west elevations. A secondary entrance on the rear (north) wall is offset to the east. Like the front, this entrance is also a 5-panel wood door. The interior has simple plaster walls and wood floors." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish Historic District is located at the intersection of Cedron Road and Zey Lane in Cedron, Moniteau County. The Cedron settlement is approximately four miles west of Jamestown. The church is representative of the center steeple church type as described in the "Rural Church Architecture in Missouri c. 1819 to c. 1945" Multiple Property Documentation Form. Originally a brick gable-end church, constructed in 1867-1872 as the congregation outgrew its earlier log structure, the brick church took on its current center-steeple appearance in 1903. At that time a three-tiered brick bell tower and sacristy (including apse and vestry) were built from plans by O.E. Sprouce. The church entrance faces west under the bell tower. The church is the center of a small historic district containing four contributing buildings and one contributing site. Typical of rural Catholic parishes, the congregation supported a school, rectory, and cemetery which remain on the 4.5 acre property. The cemetery lies on the north side of the church and contains approximately two hundred eighty-five (285) graves with the earliest dating from November 1841. The one room schoolhouse is a frame, gable front building constructed, c. 1900. A recently restored historic shed roof privy is located west of the church. The rectory, an L-Plan house is located south of the church and was constructed in 1908. " ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"Traveling Jesuit priest Father Ferdinand Helias was born to Belgian aristocracy but made his name legendary for his dedication to bringing faith to the wilds of Missouri in the state’s early days. From his early teen years, Helias dreamed of a life spent sharing the Gospel with the Native Americans. Fleeing persecution in his homeland, Helias arrived in New York in 1833, learned German in Pennsylvania and then taught languages, canon law and moral theology at St. Louis University by 1835" ~ News Tribune By Michelle Brooks Thursday, September 3, 2015

The church's own web site has great history and details