Prior to 1908, Catholics in the Clear Creek, Horseshoe Bend and Lagoons area attended Mass at St. Matthew Church, which had been established in 1874 and located atop the Finley Ridge. Catholics in the Finley and Jessietown area attended the same church. When the bishop directed that St. Matthew be relocated to Finley, Catholics in the Clear Creek area complained that the new church at Finley would be too far to go for Mass.In response, Bishop William George McCloskey established two new parishes in 1908: Our Lady of the Hills on the Lebanon-Campbellsville Road at Finley and St. Joseph Parish. The first pastor, Fr. J.J. Neafsey obtained 3 acres of land from Henry F. Abell. The first church was opened for divine service in March, 1908 and formally dedicated by Bishop McCloskey on August 8, 1908.
Theodore Spalding donated land for the cemetery and Mrs. Elizabeth Spalding donated land for an addition to the cemetery. An additional lot was purchased from Owen Brady for the school building.
Logs used to build the church were hauled by oxen and Francis Xavier “Zave” Thompson (1879-1960), brother to Mary Grace Thompson Reynolds.
Our Mission
Our mission will be to preserve the former St. Joseph Catholic Church building in a way that it can be witness to the Faith of the community that produced it in 1908.
Our Vision
To evaluate the historic building in a manner to prioritize and implement necessary repairs to give the community a place to visit for prayer, & reflection for the next 100 years.