"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...
St. Joseph Church is significant as a visual and social landmark in Westphalia,'Missouri. The church.is also noteworthy for its role in the development of the community.
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.
While the church was under the supervision of the Jesuits, 1835-1883, the church reflected the daily lives of its parishioners. Even the alterations done in 1883 and 1905 are a reflection of the changing needs of the people of Westphalia, if for no other reason than that a larger church was needed...
Historically, this church has much to offer. The Low-German community of Westphalia was founded in 1835 by a colony of Catholic Westphalians and Rhinelanders from Northern Germany. The settlement of seven families initiated Osage County to German immigrants...
Jesuit fathers, Christ Hoecken and Cornelius Walters, came to the settlement in August, 1835, and the first Holy Mass was said for the settlers in a log hut. It was in 1838, under the direction of Father Ferdinand Benedict Helias de Huddeghem, that Westphalia was made the resident headquarters of the Central Missouri Mission. St. Joseph remained the mother-church from 1838-1883, at which time the Jesuits departed and the church was made a parish church. Westphalia's St. Joseph was picked as the headquarters because of its strategic location in central Missouri where much missionary work was being done." - National Register nomination
The church is in very good condition and continues to play a significant role in this small central Missouri town.