County of church: Osage County
Location of church: Main St. @ Mill St., Westphalia
Phone: (573) 455-2320
Built: 1848
Architect: Supervised by Jesuits
Architectural Style: Romanesque-Gothic
"St. Joseph Catholic Church in Westphalia, Missouri, is a three aisle,
cruciform building of stone construction with a frame clerestory, an
octagonal apse, and a central belfry steeple towering above the entrance.
The church, picturesquely situated on a hilltop and facing northeast,
was originally erected in 1848 and has undergone two major alterations
since that date.
"The structure is made of two different stone materials, a gray lime
stone with travertine-like texture that is used for the foundation and
trim, and a local soft tan stone called cottonstone employed for the
balance of the work. All the stone.'is roughly dressed and laid in
random courses. The clerestory is wood frame covered with sheet metal
embossed to simulate stone masonry.
"The northeast end of the church is dominated by a central square tower
with belfry and spire. The main entrance is centrally located at the
first floor level of the tower's northeast wall and is surmounted by a
stone tympanum and a semi-circular arch supported by two stone columns
with high bases and cushions. Above the arch is a round hood-mould, the
keystone of which is enlarged to serve as a pedestal for a statue of the
church's patron saint. Directly above the entrance at the second story
is a semi-circular arch enclosing two long, narrow stained-glass windows.
"Rising above the tower is a square belfry containing four bells made for
the church in St. Louis in 1883% A1 large, round arch filled with wood
en louvers penetrates- each of the belfry's four sides. A wooden spire
covered with asbestos shingles 1 and-crowned-with a gold cross terminates
the steeple.
"To each side of the tower is a projection of the narthex. The narthex's
northeast wall has three round-arched windows with stained-glass and
wooden tracery. This window motif is repeated on the northwest and south
east sides. The four corners of the narthex are strengthened by square
buttresses topped by hexagonal pinnacles.
"Five equally spaced stained-glass windows with round arches, limestone
sills, and wooden tracery line the northwest side of the structure, three
distributed along the aisle wall and two along the transcept. The
openings of the south, southeast wall are identical with the addition of
a small covered entranceway at the center of the south, southeast transcept arm.
"The apse has a single, round-arched window on the southwest side and the
upper portion of a matching window on the. west side,. It is otherwise
devoid of ornamentation. ''The fenestration of the clerestory repeats
that of the aisles with the addition of a, small, opening in the gable of
the west, southwest wall. It has a simple ridge roof with sheet metal
roofing.
"The Romanesque-Gothic building provides a forceful orientation point
as it is situated prominently on a hill. Surrounded by a school,
convent, and German-influenced nineteenth century houses; the church
can be seen from any point in what seems to be an Old World Village
transplanted to the middle of the American continent. From a
distance outside of the town, the church spire can be seen towering
above everything around it." ~ NRHP Nomination Form