St. Mary's Catholic Church (Riverside, Iowa)
Encyclopedia
St. Mary’s Catholic Church is a parish church of the Diocese of Davenport
. The church is located at the corner of St. Mary’s and Washburn Streets in the town of Riverside, Iowa
, United States
. The entire parish complex forms an Historic District
listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as St. Mary’s Parish Church Buildings. The designation includes the church building, rectory
, the former convent
, and former school buildings.
organized a parish named St. Vincent, which was two miles west of the present town of Riverside, near the English River
. With the help of the Schnoebalen and Edelstein families, he built a log church and laid out a town site which was named Strassburg.
St. Mary’s was established in 1876, four years after the town of Riverside had been established. At the time the parish was part of the Diocese of Dubuque
, and was transferred to the Diocese of Davenport when it was established five years later. The current church building was constructed in 1907. It is built of red brick
in the Gothic Revival
style. It features decorative brickwork, three entrances across the front and a central bell tower and spire
. The building contains period stained glass windows, its original wooden altars and a pipe organ
. A parish hall was built in the basement of the church in the 1990s. The building was somewhat altered at the time to accommodate an entrance and a staircase between the hall and the main body of the church on the west side of the building. The changes were designed to blend with the original building.
The parish has operated schools at different times throughout its history. The first parochial schools in the area were begun in Richmond, St. Vincent's and St. Stanislaus. The children from Riverside generally went to Richmond for school where Joseph Fuhrman was the teacher. The first grade school was started at St. Mary's in 1878 when a committee from the parish convinced Fuhrman to teach there rather than in Richmond, where classes were held under the gallery of the church. The next year classes for St. Mary's School were taught in the Tabernacle, a former Baptist church. A school building was constructed in 1888. Franciscan Sisters taught in the school from 1889-1902. They were replaced by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
who then staffed the school until 1969, when the grade school closed for the first time. New school buildings were constructed in 1912 and the parish started supporting a high school the same year. The high school closed in 1960. The grade school reopened in 1978 and in 1980 there were 36 students enrolled. The Franciscan Sisters of Christ the Divine Teacher from Davenport began teaching in the school in the 1980s. Because of the financial burden and low enrollment the school closed once more.
Since the late 1990s the parish has been clustered with Holy Trinity Parish in Richmond and St. Joseph Parish in Wellman
. The pastor of the three parishes resides in the rectory at Riverside.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is a diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the state of Iowa. There are within the diocese...
. The church is located at the corner of St. Mary’s and Washburn Streets in the town of Riverside, Iowa
Riverside, Iowa
Riverside is a city in rural Washington County, Iowa, United States, along the English River on Iowa Highway 22. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 928 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Highland Community School District.Riverside proclaimed...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The entire parish complex forms an Historic District
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as St. Mary’s Parish Church Buildings. The designation includes the church building, rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, the former convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
, and former school buildings.
History
Catholicism came to the area that would become Riverside in 1846 when the Rev. John George AllemanJohn George Alleman
John George Alleman was a missionary Catholic priest who served in the states of Ohio, Iowa and Illinois. He served as a priest in the Dominican Order from 1834–1840, after which time he was expelled from the order. He then served as a secular priest in the Diocese of Dubuque from 1840–1851, and...
organized a parish named St. Vincent, which was two miles west of the present town of Riverside, near the English River
English River (Iowa)
The English River is a tributary of the Iowa River in southeastern Iowa in the United States. The main stem of the river is long. Including its longest headwaters tributary, the North English River, the total length increases to . Via the Iowa River, it is part of the Mississippi River...
. With the help of the Schnoebalen and Edelstein families, he built a log church and laid out a town site which was named Strassburg.
St. Mary’s was established in 1876, four years after the town of Riverside had been established. At the time the parish was part of the Diocese of Dubuque
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counties north of Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, and Clinton counties. ...
, and was transferred to the Diocese of Davenport when it was established five years later. The current church building was constructed in 1907. It is built of red brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
in the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style. It features decorative brickwork, three entrances across the front and a central bell tower and spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
. The building contains period stained glass windows, its original wooden altars and a pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
. A parish hall was built in the basement of the church in the 1990s. The building was somewhat altered at the time to accommodate an entrance and a staircase between the hall and the main body of the church on the west side of the building. The changes were designed to blend with the original building.
The parish has operated schools at different times throughout its history. The first parochial schools in the area were begun in Richmond, St. Vincent's and St. Stanislaus. The children from Riverside generally went to Richmond for school where Joseph Fuhrman was the teacher. The first grade school was started at St. Mary's in 1878 when a committee from the parish convinced Fuhrman to teach there rather than in Richmond, where classes were held under the gallery of the church. The next year classes for St. Mary's School were taught in the Tabernacle, a former Baptist church. A school building was constructed in 1888. Franciscan Sisters taught in the school from 1889-1902. They were replaced by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by their initials BVM, is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. BVM Sisters work in twenty-five U.S...
who then staffed the school until 1969, when the grade school closed for the first time. New school buildings were constructed in 1912 and the parish started supporting a high school the same year. The high school closed in 1960. The grade school reopened in 1978 and in 1980 there were 36 students enrolled. The Franciscan Sisters of Christ the Divine Teacher from Davenport began teaching in the school in the 1980s. Because of the financial burden and low enrollment the school closed once more.
Since the late 1990s the parish has been clustered with Holy Trinity Parish in Richmond and St. Joseph Parish in Wellman
Wellman, Iowa
Wellman is a city in Washington County, Iowa, United States. It part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,393 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. The pastor of the three parishes resides in the rectory at Riverside.