St. Joseph's Church Complex (Fort Madison, Iowa)
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St. Joseph's Church, Rectory, Chapel, Convent and School
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| Location | 601 5th Street, 508, 509, 516, 520 Avenue F, Fort Madison, Iowa |
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| Coordinates | 40°37′54.03″N 91°18′24.2″W / 40.6316750°N 91.306722°WCoordinates: 40°37′54.03″N 91°18′24.2″W / 40.6316750°N 91.306722°W |
| Built | 1850s (rectory) 1886 (church) 1890 (convent) 1914 (chapel) 1926 (school) |
| Architect | Arthur Ebeling (school) |
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Gothic Revival (church) Greek Revival (rectory) Italianate (convent) Neoclassical (school) |
| Part of | Park-to-Park Residential Historic District |
| NRHP reference # | 14001069 |
| Added to NRHP | December 22, 2014 |
The St. Joseph's Church Complex is a collection of historic buildings located in Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. At one time the complex housed a Catholic parish in the Diocese of Davenport. St. Joseph and St. Mary of the Assumption parishes merged in the 1990s to form Saints Mary and Joseph Parish. In 2007 when that parish merged with Sacred Heart on the west side to form Holy Family Parish, St. Joseph's Church was closed. The former church, chapel, rectory, convent and school were included as contributing properties in the Park-to-Park Residential Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
The Catholic Church in Fort Madison was organized by a missionary priest to the Midwest named John George Alleman. Initially, he stayed in the home of John Gerhard Schwartz, where he also celebrated the first Mass in the town. Schwartz also offered his assistance in building the first Catholic church in the community. St. Joseph parish was organized in 1840 in what was then the Diocese of Dubuque. Besides John Schwartz, the first parishioners included his brother Henry Schwartz, Herman Dingman, Joseph Hellman, Henry Tieken, Bernard Tieken, Richard Fahey, Liborious Nelle, Henry Becker and their families. Within six years their numbers had swelled to 75 families, and the small brick church the first families built became too small, so a new church was built in 1847. Father Alleman lived in a room in the basement of the church and, at the request of Bishop Loras, ministered to the German people of Southeastern Iowa, as well as the Illinois community of Nauvoo, Illinois.
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