St Joseph Catholic Church Steeple - Josephville, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 50.591 W 090° 47.770
15S E 691264 N 4301682
The community now known as Josephville began in the early l800s as a mail stop and mercantile known as Schmuckers Store in Allen’s Prairie.
Waymark Code: WMTE7Q
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 11/10/2016
Views: 0
County of church: Lincoln County
Location of church: 1390 Josephville Rd., Josephville
Steeple built: 1872
"Father Theodore Krainhardt came to Josephville in 1868, and in 1870 the cornerstone for a new church was laid. Construction continued through 1872.
"St. Joseph Church has been referred to as “the oldest homemade church in the area". This is because clay for the bricks was dug from “the brick yard pond,” an area of red clay on the farm located across the road from the church. The bricks were baked “on the spot” on Leonard Rothermich’s farm at a cost of $4 per thousand. Lumber for the church floors and communion rail came from the trees of parishioners’ farms.
" It was also during the time of Father Acker’s service to the parish that one of the most outstanding feats by the parishioners was accomplished. The foundation under the front part of the church had, over the years, begun to weaken and the steeple began to lean. Men of St. Joseph Parish, with supervision from a St Louis firm, but without advanced equipment, literally pushed the steeple back into place and reinforced the foundation at the same time."
~ St Joseph Church History