St. Joseph, Kansas Street by Kathy Alexander.
St. Joseph, Kansas Catholic Church by Kathy Alexander.
St. Joseph, Kansas, is an extinct town in Cloud County. In 1873, Father Louis-Marie Mollier was sent to St. Joseph, which had the largest concentration of Catholics in the area. He served missions as far west as New Almelo. St. Joseph’s inhabitants were originally predominately Roman Catholics of French American heritage who migrated from Kankakee, Illinois. A large wooden church was built in 1873.
A post office was established in the village on July 29, 1878, and the wooden church was enlarged in 1880. The post office closed on April 14, 1882, and reopened on August 4, 1885. On November 15, 1901, St. Joseph’s post office closed for the final time.
Unfortunately, the wooden church burned down in 1910. That year, the congregation laid the cornerstone for a larger brick structure. At its peak, 800 people worshiped at St. Joseph Catholic Church. However, as the years passed, most of the population moved away, and the town was never incorporated.
After the area’s population loss, the Salina Diocese deconsecrated the church and planned to demolish the building. However, area residents came together and formed the Guardians of The St. Joseph Church Foundation, pleading with the Salina Diocese to preserve the church. The foundation continues to preserve the church today. Today, the church is open only by appointment.
St. Joseph Cemetery
Today, this small town has little left except a few scattered homes and the beautiful St. Joseph Catholic Church that rises above the prairie. A cemetery is behind the church. It is located about six miles south of Clyde, Kansas, at 2824 Noble Road.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, March 2024.
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A farm near the old town of St. Joseph, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.