Established by Father J. Joos, the original church for the St. Joseph Parish, built in Watervliet in 1896, finally succumbed to the wrecking ball last Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. The adjoined residence was torn down days earlier.
The loss of this sacred place is remarkably similar to churches across the nation being demolished, except this time, with social media in a much more developed state, the pictures of the demolition have spread to a greater audience. An audience that has opinions both positive and negative about the harsh reality that all over, structures are lost to time.