St Paul Catholic Church Bell Tower - St. Paul, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 51.690 W 090° 44.604
15S E 695794 N 4303827
Building built in 1897, another German farm area - Eastern Missouri if full of German Catholics, they built beautiful churches.
Waymark Code: WMTFDA
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 11/16/2016
Views: 1
County of tower: St Charles County
Location of tower: Church Rd. & St. Paul Rd., St Paul Catholic Church, St. Paul
Built: 1897
The bells are probably electronically operated today, but in the past a mechanical system rang the chimes and tunes on specific hours. There are 4 or 5 bells according to a KofC member.
"A number of German farmers banded together in 1836 and erected a small wooden building near the site of the present St. Paul Church. The little church was the site of occasional Sunday Masses celebrated by Father Lyons of Millwood. This wooden building was later used as a home for the tenant of the church farm and later as a school.
"In 1895 preparation was begun to build a new and larger church. The parishioners donated their time and money and hauled 500 wagon loads of sand, rock, 37,000 bricks, lumber and slate to the site.Most of the materials were shipped by railroad to Richfield station, north of Highway 79, and the village by wagon. Acquiring the building materials took nearly two years.
"On July 13, 1896, Holy Mass was celebrated for the last time in the limestone church. During this month of July, the building was pulled down and much of the stone was used in the concrete foundation of the new church. For a year, Mass was held in the school building which had been built in 1867. The architectural style of the church was known as American Gothic Revival and the exterior was of buff colored brick with a slate roof. The dimensions were 47’ x 118’ with a spire reaching 125’.
"Notes kept by Father Tintrup dated March 1, 1898, revealed the following: “Upon completion of the building, the high altar, side altars, confessional, organ bells, and other utensils used in the old church were moved to the new one.” It is agreed among senior members of today’s parish that these are the same altars, with some remodeling, present in our church today. Father Tintrup listed the total cost of the building $20,000.
". . . His first undertaking was the remodeling of the church in 1961. This was in response to the bishop’s plan to build a new church. Father Kohnen’s plan was to make the church as good as new for much less money than the proposed amount needed for a new building. A new roof was placed and slate was applied to the bell tower." ~ Parish History