History:

In the spring of 1900 some soon-to-be first parishioners of St. Joseph met in the Community Hall in Hainesville to discuss the possibility of beginning a new parish. Perhaps some of the names sound familiar: Amann, Richardson, Rosing, Luby, Thelan. In May of 1911 representatives of the 250 or so Catholics in the Round Lake Area petitioned Archbishop Quigley and in June of 1911 permission was granted to begin the parish and build a church structure. 

The original property (160' x 250') was donated by John Rosing and the cornerstone for the wooden structure was laid September 10, 1911. The bell, donated by Mrs. Renehan, was installed in February of 1912 and the church was ready for use March 24th of that year. Rev. Anthony Berger was to be our first Pastor. He lived in the homes of parishioners until he was able to rent a cottage just south of the present rectory. 

A group of concerned parishioners - including such names as Molidor, Innis, Finn and Schuemelfender - quickly searched out a religious order of sisters to staff the new school. After some effort they secured three Sisters of the Holy Ghost from Techny, Illinois. They would join us for the school year beginning 1950. The parish hall was a temporary home for our new school of 79 students. 

The members of the Parish Pastoral Council recognize as our mission: To foster a Christ-like spirit of prayer, participation, cooperation, and stewardship in all the members of our parish; to manifest unity in our parish family through respect and representation of our various cultures; to communicate and express the needs and wishes of the whole parish with thoughtful recommendations to the pastor, in the humble example of St. Joseph, our patron.