St Joe's Church, Sand Creek

The St Joseph Catholic Church was said to have been the focal point of the community of St Joe. Jeanette Robling, a lifelong resident of Sand Creek Township, said in 1887, “It was really the church that made the community. There never was a business district. All community centered around the church.”

St Joe’s Church was located at the intersection of county roads 71 and 10 in Sand Creek. The story goes that a group of early settlers wrote to the Bishop in St Paul to request permission to build a local church. They heard that their request might be refused because of their proximity to Jordan which was also building a Catholic church at the time. Supposedly, a farmer came out with his wagon to meet the Bishop when he came to inspect the area. Instead of taking a direct route back to the community of St Joe, the farmer drove the Bishop along a circuitous and bumpy back route. St Joe seemed farther from Jordan then it actually was, and the Bishop gave permission for the church to be built. 

St Joe’s Church was established in 1858, with the first day of work on January 11th. It was built entirely by community volunteers and, due to farming and family obligations, was not finished until the following October. The original building was a 24’x35’ log cabin, not dissimilar to the residences in St Joe at the time. The first priest was Father Eberhard. In 1860 a bell, cast in St Louis, was purchased for the church by the local Young Men’s Society

In 1873, this cabin was replaced by a sandstone church building. For the next two years the priest was Father Duestermann. After that the Franciscan Order took over church management.

Exterior of St Joe’s Church. From the Prior Lake American, September 7th, 1987

In 1874 a school opened on site, run by an order of nuns, with 60 students in attendance. The school consisted of only two rooms, with two teachers on staff. Attendance for each student averaged only 50-60 days per year due to farm work, illness and weather. By 1883, 106 children were enrolled. Unfortunately, this proved to be a difficult year for the school. Several students died in an epidemic, and the school closed for a large portion of the year as a protective measure. In 1884, the nuns retired and the building became the District 22 public school. The building was still shared with the church for religious instruction until 1947. It remained in operation until 1960, when the district combined with Jordan. 

A tower was added to St Joe’s Church in 1925, and electric lights were installed in 1938. The church held its first “annual bazaar” in celebration. 

St Joe’s Church stood for over 100 years. The last mass in the building was held in June of 1971, and officiated by Father Rogers. Many in the congregation were sad to see the church go. There was actually a lawsuit around the decision, based on the fact that the original donors of the land had given it for “church, charitable and educational purposes.” The final ruling was that when the deed was turned over to the Franciscan Order in 1875, this original intent was voided, and the church could be closed and the land sold. 

Items from inside the church were auctioned off in February of 1972, and the resulting funds were put into place to preserve the church cemetery. The old teachers residence was torn down to provide parking. Finally, the church itself was removed in 1988. 

In June of 1989 a memorial to the church was dedicated on site featuring the old church bell. The inscription reads “St Joseph's Catholic Church. On this spot stood St Joseph's Catholic Church. This monument is dedicated in memory of those who worshiped here and supported the church for 113 years. The bell is original. The stone and brick are from the church.” 

The end of the church also marked the end of St Joe. Never a large community, it began to disperse after the church closed. Today it is considered a ghost town. 

Early Sand Creek Township

The Landscape of Sand Creek

Like most parts of Scott County, the Sand Creek Township area was originally settled by the Dakota, thousands of years before European Americans came to the area. We don’t know many details of this Dakota Settlement, but early European Americans in the area commented on Dakota communities on the bluffs along the Minnesota River in the township. The area was home to the Eastern Wahpeton band of the Dakota. Given the landscape of the area, it is believed that there were likely seasonal hunting villages in what is now Sand Creek Township. 

Sand Creek was originally part of the Big Woods. This landscape was made up of heavy oak, basswood and elm. In fact, the forested area in Sand Creek was described by early European Americans as “impenetrable”. The thick trees made traditional European farming methods challenging. 

Early European American presence in the area was tied to milling. The nearby community of Jordan sprang up for this reason as well. The first European American structure we know of in the area was a sawmill built by William Holmes in 1853. William was the brother of Thomas Holmes, a land speculator known as the “Father of Shakopee”. Thomas Holmes eventually left the county, but William stayed on and settled in Jordan. After the mill was constructed, a few homes sprang up in the area, owned by men named John Smith and Comfort Baines. In 1854 a second mill was built, this one a grist mill operated by William Varner. In 1855 the first frame house was built. This small community in Sand Creek Township came to be known as St Joe. 

At this time, Sand Creek was known as Douglas Township, and was officially organized in 1858. Several months later, it was renamed St Mary Township. In 1859 the name was finally hanged to Sand Creek.

Early European American Settlers of Sand Creek Township

On January 20, 1927 the Shakopee Argus Tribune ran a piece profiling the early settlers of St Joe.

W. B. Baudy was born in Indiana in 1822, and came to Minnesota in 1857. While in Indiana he listed his profession as “hired man”. After arriving in Minnesota, he spent several years working in Scott County’s brick industry, and in various pineries. Finally, he was able to purchase 77 acres in section 4 of Sand Creek Township. He didn’t remain on the land long, but enlisted in 1862 and served for two years in the Union army. His first wife, “Miss Springer” passed away while he was at war. After he returned, he married “Miss Barrisford”, and they had two children. 

Frank Matchett was born in Ohio, and studied journalism at the Hiram Institute. After graduating, he worked as printer for the Elmira Eagle for several years, then became a typesetter in Cleveland. He came to Minnesota after accepting a position to work at the St Paul Press in 1874. He did not stay there long, choosing instead to move around the state, helping to start small newspapers including the Wright County Eagle and Howard Lake People’s Advocate. In 1878 he came to Scott County and settled in Sand Creek Township, starting the Scott County Advocate newspaper. He married Sarah Reed of Jordan in 1879. 

Eli Palmer was born in Syracuse, New York in 1818. He soon moved to Illinois where he remained for 37 years. In 1855 he agreed to captain a wagon train to California, where he built a trading post and remained for two years. After this time, he sold his property in Illinois and bought land in Sand Creek township. Eli Palmer enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and served for three years. 

Henry and Francis Eckman came to the United States from Germany in 1850. They originally moved to St Louis where Henry drove a butcher’s wagon. After saving up money for several years, they came to Sand Creek Township and claimed a homestead. Henry built a small log cabin with a bark roof. For their first year, they had no oxen to help with breaking the ground. They used horses to “scratch the surface” of the land and planted a few crops among trees and stumps. The next year they bought oxen. Over time, they were able to plow the land and eventually built a barn and upgraded from a log cabin to a brick house. Eventually they focused on dairy cattle and sold butter and cheese. Henry and Francis had seven children. One started a sawmill, one a furniture store in Jordan, and three joined forces to open a brewery in Glencoe.