St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church | |
 St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church | |
   | |
| Location | Stone City,Jones County, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°6′50″N91°21′18″W / 42.11389°N 91.35500°W /42.11389; -91.35500 |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1913 |
| Built by | Otto Braun |
| Architect | Guido Beck |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
| Part of | Stone City Historic District (ID08001099) |
| NRHP reference No. | 05000904[1] |
| Added to NRHP | August 24, 2005 |
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church is a former parish church of theArchdiocese of Dubuque located inStone City, Iowa, United States. Catholics in Stone City were initially served by priests fromCedar Rapids andAnamosa.Mass was celebrated in parishioner's homes until 1881 when permission was granted to use a large hall in Stone City.[2] The parish was established in 1901 and thecornerstone for the church building was laid in 1913. It was completed later the same year. The first mass was celebrated in 1914.[3] The church was designed byDubuque, Iowa architect Guido Beck. Thestained glass windows of the church were imported fromGermany. Thelimestone used for the building was donated by city quarries. Otto Braun served as the contractor, and the labor to construct the church was also donated by localquarry businesses. The lower level of the building houses the parish hall. The rear of the church can be seen anchoring the left side ofGrant Wood's paintingStone City (1930).[2] The parish started to lose parishioners in the 1920s when the stone quarries started to decline. Its size increased again in the 1950s before economic factors once again caused it to decline. The archdiocese closed the parish in 1992, and church building became anoratory. A year later, the church's rectory was auctioned off on June 27, 1993.[4]
The church building was individually listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2005. It was included as acontributing property in theStone City Historic District in 2008.[5]
