St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Catholic church in Mountain Island, North Carolina.
St. Joseph's Church is a Catholic house of worship in Mountain Island featuring white clapboard siding and Greek Revival architectural elements. The structure displays a gable roof and a four-column portico at the main entrance.
Irish miners near Mount Holly first worshipped in Chevalier Riva de Finola's home before his gold mines closed in 1835. Missionary Fr. T.J. Cronin began fundraising in 1838, and miner William Lonergan donated six acres in 1841; he was buried on the site in 1842. The wooden church was completed in 1843, the fourth Catholic church in North Carolina and the first west of Raleigh. After services ceased, it was restored in 1974 and listed on the National Register in 1979.
The church was dedicated to Saints Mary and Joseph and served Irish miners who settled around the gold mines. Regular services ended after the congregation moved to Belmont Abbey, and the building stood neglected for decades. Since 1993 a small group of volunteers led by Carl Heil has cared for the property, and it is now a mission church of Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont.
The building is accessible by car via standard roads in Mountain Island and its distinctive white appearance makes it easy to locate. Interior access may be limited, so it is helpful to check in advance about current visiting conditions.
The church was dedicated to Saints Mary and Joseph, though today it is known only as St. Joseph's. A statue of Saint Joseph that stood outside St. Joseph's Hospital in Asheville was moved to the grounds in 2001. The first burial in the cemetery was William Lonergan, the miner who donated the land, in 1842.
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