St. Andrew Catholic Church, Tipton, Mo was founded in 1857. The first baptism was registered here in June of 1849 and the parish was recognized by the Archbishop of St. Louis in 1857. Priests from Jefferson City administered the mission in Tipton first from 1859 to 1862. In 1865, because of the growth of the parish, it was decided to ask Archbishop, Peter Kenrick of St. Louis for a priest of their own. Rev. H. V. Kalmer was sent and made Tipton his residence until 1869, during this time five acres of land was purchased in town. The land was purchased from M. Isaac Snorgrass, a frame building was erected which served as a church until the present brick church was completed in 1883. The church was formally dedicated by Bishop Hogan, Bishop of Kansas City on May 24, 1884 at the cost of $19,000. The money was raised from the parishioners and some generous Protestant neighbors.   In 1886, a large rectory was built at a cost of $3,500 and in 1890 the school and convent were erected at a cost of $5,000. At this time the rectory was on the east side of the church and the convent and school were on the west. No debt was incurred in all this construction. The parish was comprised of 100 families. In 1939 ground was broken for the new school and auditorium. At a cost of $60,000 and much volunteer labor, the structure was dedicated by Bishop Edwin O'Hara of Kansas City on May 28, 1940. In 1945 the interior of the church was renovated along with the rectory. In May a parish festival was held at which the notes were burned and the buildings were declared debt free. In June of 1952 the old school and convent building were razed to clear the site of the new rectory which was constructed that summer. The old rectory was converted into the convent. In 1963, a tornado did extensive damage to the convent. It was decided to build a new convent which was dedicated in November of 1964. The convent was later made into classrooms for the school as an annex. No new additions have been made in recent years, but with the hope, prayers and donations from the wonderful St. Andrew Parishioners, St. Andrew Alumni, and the people of Tipton, we will be adding a new auditorium/cafeteria/handicap accessible restrooms and much more to our school in 2008 at a cost of 2.5 million dollars. To make way for the new construction Kueper Center had to be torn down for a new generation to live and grow in the Catholic faith.   St. Andrew Parish has 387 families at this time.