Rt. Rev. August Bessonies was the first priest to offer Mass at St. Joe Hill, according to tradition.  Like all priests at this time, he would travel to a different parish each day on horseback to have Mass for the Catholic faithful– sometimes it would take all day to reach the next parish.

A letter addressed to Rev. Fr. Joseph Dickmann, pastor at St. Joe Hill from 1873 - 1892 states the following: "The early settlers were from Germany, coming to this country in 1846.  After having provided for their bodies, they provided for their souls, mindful of the words of our Saviour, 'What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and loses his own soul?', by erecting a church in their midst."

June 11, Martin Koener and Joseph Ehringer started to build a 80 x30 frame church on St. Joseph's Hill, on the site of the current Religious Education building.  The church contained two rows of pews and a single bell tower.  They received $275 for their labor. 

 

Other leading men in the project were Peter Biesel Sr., Peter Renn Sr., Frank Ackerman, Andrew Rank Sr., Philip Strobel, and Ludwig Herbig; with many others assisting.

 

At some point, a large cross was placed on the site of the current church building.

Fr. Louis Neyron, a priest and physician, who had overseen the construction of the first church at St. Mary’s of the Knobs, was the first missionary priest to serve at St. Joseph Hill.  He also had Holy Trinity Church built in downtown New Albany, mostly with his own money.   Moving his residence from St. Mary’s of the Knobs to Holy Trinity, he made the trip to the knobs and St. Joseph Hill mostly on foot.

Fr. Louis Neyron

(at an older age)

Rt. Rev.

August Bessonies

Franklin Pierce was President from 1853-1857, succeeding Zachary Taylor.

California, Minnesota and Oregon became states during this decade.

Upon the death of Fr. Neyron at Notre Dame in 1888, The New Albany Daily Ledger, in reporting his death, stated, "In his death, humanity has lost a friend, the Catholic Church, one of the brightest ornaments to its priesthood."