CEDRON, Mo. -- The fourth of seven parishes founded by the Apostle of Central Missouri, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church remains a reflection of the past as a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Traveling Jesuit priest Father Ferdinand Helias was born to Belgian aristocracy but made his name legendary for his dedication to bringing faith to the wilds of Missouri in the state's early days. From his early teen years, Helias dreamed of a life spent sharing the Gospel with the Native Americans. Fleeing persecution in his homeland, Helias arrived in New York in 1833, learned German in Pennsylvania and then taught languages, canon law and moral theology at St. Louis University by 1835.
At age 42, his wish to go to the mission field was fulfilled. But instead of ministering to Indians, he did so to displaced
German immigrants. By pony and by foot, Helias reached 25 mission stations across 11 counties, a span larger than his homeland.
Cedron Church was born in 1838, outgrowing its initial log building by the 1860s thanks in part to the population boom brought by the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
The land was donated by Ignatz and Barbara Becker in 1843 and originally the church was known as "Becker's Church," later becoming Assumption Church of Moniteau and then Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Beckers migrated from Baden Germany about 1830, living in Washington, D.C., and Ohio before moving by ox-drawn, covered wagon to Moniteau County in 1841.
A cemetery, schoolhouse, privy and former rectory are included in the 41/2-acre site. The cemetery holds 285 graves, the earliest from November 1841.
The one-room, frame schoolhouse was built about 1900, but it is the third 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 said.
The congregation built the brick, gable-front portion in 1872. And Oliver Sprouce designed the front and rear additions, including the bell tower, in 1903. Sprouce had designed in 1901 the Annunciation Catholic Church in California, where he had an office.
The final stained-glass windows were installed around 1914.
The parish grew from eight families in 1841 to 65 in 1889, creating a demand for parochial education. Joe Schweitzer was the first teacher in 1857.
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 rural Moniteau County community was settled in the mid-1800s primarily by German Catholic immigrants. At its height, Cedron boasted a general store, post office and blacksmith shop. The commercial buildings were removed in 1979, when most of the land became state conservation area.
The parish became a mission of the California Annunciation Church in 1970 and then closed in 1993.
"The church, its associated buildings, and cemetery are typical of the arrangement for such rural congregations and the Assumption Parish district is a significant example of a rural church complex," the nomination said. "The complex is also a significant rural landscape representing the settlement pattern of the area around an important religious and social center."
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church
Architecture: Gothic revival
Caretaker: Friends of Cedron
Owner: Diocese of Jefferson City
Address: Cedron, Mo.
Architect: Oliver E. Sprouse
Size: 4½ acres
Period of significance: 1867-1914