CEDRON, Mo. - A rural brick church styled in Gothic revival with a traditional center steeple has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For many years, the Friends of Cedron have held fundraisers to maintain the historic Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church.
This nomination, prepared by Lincoln University history professor Roger Jungmeyer and area historian Tiffany Patterson, records the life of one of the first parishes established in Central Missouri.
Other Moniteau County sites listed on the National Register include: Finke Opera House, High Point Historic District, Maclay Mansion and the Moniteau County Courthouse Square.
The church was designed by architect O.E. Sprouse. The 4.5-acre site also includes a cemetery, schoolhouse, privy and former rectory.
The cemetery holds 285 graves, the earliest from November 1841.
The one-room, frame schoolhouse was built about 1900. This was the third schoolhouse on the grounds since 1857.
And the rectory was constructed in 1908, replacing the first built in 1884.
"The associated cemetery, school and privy and rectory are important features of historic rural church complexes that are becoming increasingly rare," the nomination states.
The parish was founded by the traveling priest Father Ferdinand Helias, who has been called the "Apostle of Central Missouri" because he founded seven such parishes in the 1800s.
The Cedron church was born in 1838 and had outgrown its original log building by the 1860s.
The congregation built the brick, gable-front portion. And Sprouce designed the front and rear additions in 1903.
The final stained-glass windows were installed about 1914.
The parish grew from eight families in 1841 to 65 in 1889.
That created a demand for parochial education. Joe Schweitzer was the first teacher in 1857. The school continued through 1931.
For the nomination, the period of significance of the site was listed as 1867-1914.
"The period represents the evolution of the church to its significant appearance and the development of its significant associated resources," the nomination says.
The church was once the center of a settlement called Cedron, taking its name from the biblical Valley of Kidron from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.
The area was settled in the mid-1800s primarily by German Catholic immigrants. At one time, Cedron boasted a general store, post office and blacksmith shop.
The commercial buildings were removed in 1979, when much of the land became state conservation area.
The parish became a mission of the California Annunciation Church in 1970 and then was closed in 1993.
Through The Friends of Cedron, the property owned by the Diocese of Jefferson City remains available for wedding, funerals and special occasions.
Online:
www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/Moniteau.htm
www.cedronchurch.org/index.html