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Church of St. Joseph (Catholic)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Church of St. Joseph from the southeast
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Location	7897 Elmer Road, Elmer, Minnesota
Coordinates	47°5′1.2″N 92°46′37″W / 47.083667°N 92.77694°W / 47.083667; -92.77694
Area	5 acres (2.0 ha)
Built	1913
NRHP reference No.	02000940
Added to NRHP	September 6, 2002

The Church of St. Joseph is a former Roman Catholic church building in the unincorporated community of Elmer, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1913 by the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad as a bonus to settlers the company had recruited to buy its surplus land. The Church of St. Joseph was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 for its local significance in the theme of exploration/settlement. The nomination includes the associated cemetery, located across the road to the east. The property was nominated for illustrating the corporate efforts to settle northern Minnesota once it had been cleared of valuable timber.

History

To encourage development of northern Minnesota's transportation infrastructure, the state legislature granted the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad 10 sections of land for every mile of track laid. The railroad profited by leasing the land for logging, but sought to dispose of it once it was cut over by enticing settlers to buy and farm it. One of the railroad's land agents recruited 25 Roman Catholic Austro-Hungarian immigrants from Chicago to settle what the company marketed as "St. Joseph's Colony", with this church as its nucleus.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth dissolved St. Joseph's Parish in 1962 due to a shortage of priests. The church still hosted a monthly mass and occasional weddings, funerals, and baptisms. In 1990 several descendants of the original settlers formed an organization to maintain the building, which was ultimately deconsecrated in 2001.

See also

• List of Catholic churches in the United States
• National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis County, Minnesota

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. ^ Hoisington, Daniel J. (2002-03-01). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Church of St. Joseph (Catholic)". National Park Service. Retrieved 2019-08-11. With five accompanying photo from 2001
3. "Church of St. Joseph (Catholic)". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2019-08-11.

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth
Bishops	Ordinaries James McGolrick John T. McNicholas Thomas Anthony Welch Francis Joseph Schenk Paul Francis Anderson Robert Henry Brom Roger Lawrence Schwietz Dennis Marion Schnurr Paul Sirba Daniel John Felton Auxiliary Lawrence Alexander Glenn
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, Duluth Parishes Resurrection Church, Eveleth Holy Spirit, Virginia Historic Sacred Heart Cathedral, Duluth Church of Sts. Joseph and Mary, Cloquet Church of St. Joseph, Elmer Church of St. Francis Xavier, Grand Marais
Education	The College of St. Scholastica
Priests	Jozef Cieminski Mike Schmitz
Catholicism portal

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
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• 1913 establishments in Minnesota
• 2001 disestablishments in Minnesota
• Churches in St. Louis County, Minnesota
• Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Minnesota
• National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Minnesota
• Roman Catholic churches completed in 1913
• Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
• 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States