The Historic St. Joseph's Church:

In the 1840s and 1850s…

Galveston was a popular spot for German immigrants to settle. Recognizing the need for a church for the German Catholic population, Bishop John M. Odin commissioned Joseph Bleicke, a German-born carpenter, to build St. Joseph's Church in 1859-60. Bleicke designed the frame structure with Gothic Revival detailing and a trefoil window adorning the bell tower. The church was the first German Catholic Church in Texas and Galveston's oldest wooden church building. It was filled with original, elaborate hand-carved altars and altar statues, plaster Stations of the Cross with German inscriptions, cedar pews, a Baptismal font, and a confessional booth. St. Joseph's operated a parochial school from 1876 to 1926 and remained an active parish until 1968. When the parishioners dwindled, and the church was forced to close, the Galveston Historical Foundation stepped in to preserve the church. They leased the church and recovered and reinstalled most of the original furnishings. The foundation also opens the church for the public to visit and experience the property. Since 2010, musicians have also been invited to perform live in the church, as its structure was designed to carry sound without electric amplification. Today, St. Joseph's Church is one of the few pre-Civil War buildings left on Galveston Island and one of the four oldest churches in the city. It stands as a symbol of the German immigrants who helped shape and build the city of Galveston.