Wall Lake - St. Joseph

WALL LAKE - St. Joseph's Church was founded in 1878, one year following the founding of the town. From 1878 to 1880, the church was served by traveling priests who conducted Masses and performed the sacraments whenever they passed through.

In 1881, Father John Norton of Breda became the mission priest and under his direction, a church was built in Wall Lake. However, before Mass was ever said in it, a storm destroyed the building. Mass was then offered in the local grain company with a table serving as the altar and sacks of grain as seats for the congregation.

A new church was constructed in 1883, under the direction of Father John Perschong, a mission priest from Odebolt. This church was built in Fletcher (now Lake View). In 1886, the church was moved to Wall Lake because of the central location of the town. The parish at this time was made up of 14 families, mostly of German and Irish extraction.

On May 12, 1904, the church burned to the ground. The estimated cost of damage was $3,000. Services were held in a tent until June 9, 1904, at which time arrangements were made to use the Opera House for services.

In August of 1904, construction began on a new church on property donated by the Blair Town Lot Company. Plans received from the architect were for a 34-foot by 85-foot building with a gallery and basement meeting room. The cost of the contract was $4,800 and construction was completed by November of 1904. This building served the parish until the present building was constructed in 1952, under the direction of Father Philip Dailey. The cost of the new church was $187,523. It had a seating capacity of 450 with a social hall in the basement. An outstanding feature of this building is its beautiful stained glass windows.

A cemetery was plotted in 1915, and in 1973, it was deeded over to the city of Wall Lake to be incorporated into the city's cemetery.

The year 1993 saw the addition of a new social hall and kitchen to the west side of the church. At the same time, the basement was converted into permanent classrooms for the C.C.D. program. The cost of this project was $850,000.

St. Joseph's has grown considerably since its beginning when there were 14 families to the current membership of 620 families. At the present time, St. Joseph's is clustered with Sac City and Odebolt. The parish maintains a C.C.D. program, C.Y.O., Women's Guild, choir, parish council and a church decorating committee.

A major milestone for St. Joseph's was its centennial celebration in 1978. Religious vocations from the parish include one brother and two sisters.