A Brief History of St. Joseph’s Parish
In 1845 St. Joseph’s Parish was established by Archbishop John Hughes to serve a growing Catholic population in Northern Westchester. This growth was spurred by increasing Catholic emigration to America, primarily from Ireland and the extension of railroad tracks from New York City.
The first church was built in 1849 near the railroad on Rte. 22. The Parish and its missions served a growing flock. From 1853-1867, 197 marriages were recorded in the Parish, of which 185 had Irish surnames. The first church was destroyed in 1893 by a fire ignited by sparks from a passing locomotive.
St. Joseph’s Church was too small and remote to serve all its parishioners even after new parishes were portioned off from the original boundaries. In response, two chapels were built. In 1916 St. John’s on Rte. 116 in North Salem was opened. Twenty years prior in 1886, St. Michael’s Chapel was opened in Golden’s Bridge along the railroad and Bedford Rd. The Christian Brothers at the Lincoln Hall school for boys, opened the St. John the Baptist de la Salle Chapel in 1965.
The day finally arrived in June of 2013. On a glorious Sunday the New St. Joseph’s Catholic Church now located at 95 Plum Brook Road was dedicated in a Mass and ceremony presided over by both Cardinal Dolan and his predecessor Cardinal Egan. Relics deposited in the altar are: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. Agnes, St. Gregory the Great, St. Mary Magdalene De Pazzi, St. Maria Goretti, St. Teresa of Avila. This breathtaking house of worship will with God’s help withstand both fire and flood and remain a testament to the loyal Parishioners, Nuns and Priests who have served this Parish for the last 160 years.