The history of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gnesen is truly a rich and colorful one. In 1874, just a few years after the Civil War ended, our parish was founded by a group of Polish immigrants seeking freedom from oppression in their native Prussia. The determination with which these immigrants founded and built up this Polish, Catholic community was incredible. Before many of them had even built their own homes, they gathered together to build a House of God where they could worship. Over the years, that same spirit of sacrifice and determination has been visible in our parish community. From the completion of the first church in 1876 and the creation of a cemetery, to the completion of a new larger church in 1900, to the building of a rectory in 1952, to a new church entrance and expanded seating in 1982, and to the remodeling of the social hall and the addition of a wheelchair lift in 2007.