Photos of Saint Joseph Church, in Zell, Missouri

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Joseph Church, in Zell, Missouri. The church is in Sainte Genevieve County, and is 62 highway miles south of downtown Saint Louis.



In 1837, German Catholics moved to what was known as Nouvelle Alsace, renamed Zell in 1840, which according to one history, was named after a town in Germany.

Zell was first settled in 1798 when 1000 arpents of land [1 arpent = 0.8507 acre] were granted to Pierre Charles Dehault Delassus Deluziere, he called it the Prarie Gautier Tract. In 1819, this land, after Pierre's death was sold to his son, Charles Dehault Delassus (upon the closing of Pierre's estate by Marie Philipe LeDuc), and was soon sold again to Charles's nephew Felix de St. Vrain.

The parish dates from 1845, and the original part of the church dates from 1845-1847. The transept, sanctuary, and bell tower were added in the early 20^th century.

Click here for historical information and photos of the church by the Library of Congress, dating from the 1930s.



The interior of the church. Click any photo for a larger version.

Please note that this photo is highly distorted: the pews are not curved, but rather this is a wide-angle artifact.

According to the 2007 ecclesiastical census, this parish has approximately 1,248 Catholics.



The tabernacle, altar, and crucifix.





Paintings of the Holy Family and of the Death of Saint Joseph.



Station of the cross.



Stained glass windows; the blue window is on a door.



Priest's graves in the church cemetery.



Also see this article.

Address:
11824 Zell Road
Sainte Genevieve, Missouri 63670