St. Joseph's Catholic Church - Fromberg, MT
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T0SHEA
N 45° 23.640 W 108° 54.554
12T E 663651 N 5028846
Rather un-Catholic in appearance, St. Joseph's has housed its congregation for just over a century as of 2017.
Waymark Code: WMXN3P
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 01/31/2018
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Though we know nothing of the story of St. Joseph's, at least we have a cornerstone, which tells us that construction of the building was begun in 1915. The style of the building is in keeping with such a date, so we'll believe it. With a gable roofed brick sanctuary, centered in its façade is a steeple, bell tower and narthex rolled into one. Double doors with a tall cross filling the recessed panel of each are hung below a Gothic arched, glass filled transom. Tracery splits the transom glass into three panes, two orange and one purple. Running all the way around the building is a beltline of outset bricks set on edge, at the level of the window sills of the sanctuary. Those windows, like two small windows in the sides of the tower, are Gothic arched, supplying nearly all of the building's Gothic Revival elements.
The massive tower is set slightly into the front of the sanctuary. At the peak of the sanctuary's metal covered roof is a large eave running around the tower. At this point the bricks of the tower come to an end, on top of which stands a set back wood framed belfry. It is topped by a low metal shingle covered hipped roof spire with, you guessed it, a metal cross atop. The vent openings in the belfry are not Gothic, as one would expect, but triangular, covered with store-bought triangular metal louvres. The belfry sides are also covered with metal shingles.
Under the eaves on each long side of the sanctuary is a wide board, through which run metal rods meant to pull the two sides together. We expect that these were added sometime after construction of the sanctuary as an emergency measure to stabilize the walls.