Saint Joseph, Duquesne

Parish History

St. Joseph was founded in 1896 as a German parish.  At that time, the town was known as Germantown or Dutchtown because most of the inhabitants were German immigrants who came there to work in the local coal mines.  Even before the parish was established, the Church had a presence in Duquesne.  In 1869, a chapel, called St. Dominic, was built in the town.  A priest from St. Agnes, West Mifflin, visited the chapel once a week.  At some point, the chapel was also used as a school.

In 1895, the local German Catholics began organizing to form their own parish.  In that year, they purchased a local school and remodeled it into a combined church and school.  The upper floor was used as the school, and the first floor as the church.  In 1896 a pastor was assigned to the parish and the first Mass in the new church was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1896.

In 1899, the pastor purchased two acres of ground next to St. Dominic Chapel for a cemetery.  St. Dominic Chapel then became the cemetery chapel.  This building was torn down in the 1960's.

By the turn of the century, the congregation had outgrown its original church.  The building was physically moved to make room for a new church.  The cornerstone of the new church was laid in 1903 and the completed building was dedicated on August 26, 1904.  The original church was then converted to a school.  When a new school was built in 1909, the first church building was remodeled into two dwellings.  These were eventually torn down in the late 1950's or early 1960's.

The church was enlarged in 1915 and renovated in 1947 and again in 1962.  The church continues to serve the parish today.