The little white church

Located in Woodburn is a little church in need of some big love, a feat the St. Mary’s Historical Church committee is willing to take on, helped along with a Pillars Grant from the Clarke County Development Corporation and generous community donations.

Church history

In 1868, land was purchased near the top of Maple Street in Woodburn to build St. Mary’s Catholic Church. As far as available information reveals, that original church was blown down in a windstorm. It was rebuilt in 1878 in the Gothic Revival style, and the structure has stood the test of time to still be there today.

St. Mary’s was originally built to serve as a place of worship and community for 36 families of Irish descendants, many of whom had come through the area while working on the railroad. As the railroad rolled on, many of the workers and their families moved from the area but some stayed, continuing to attend St. Mary’s as others joined in. St. Mary’s held Mass celebrations, weddings, funerals, baptisms and more from 1878 until 1981, when in October of that year the Des Moines Diocese ceased Mass celebrations for the church.

Following the church’s final Mass, the priest walked out of the building and locked the doors, leaving behind all of the religious artifacts. St. Mary’s sat unattended for the next decade, showing the signs that come with years of little care. In 1992, the Des Moines Diocese deeded the church over to the city of Woodburn and the historical committee was formed to take charge of the church’s upkeep, some of whose members are lineage of those original parishioners.

“At that time, those ladies worked really hard to get it back and restore it,” Brandi Kastler, current St. Mary’s Historical Church committee president and granddaughter of one of the founding members, LaVera Cottrell, said. “It became a community space – they did quilt shows and nights of nondenominational music and such events.”

The inside was modernized to the times to include carpeting, acoustic tiles on the ceiling and wood paneling on the walls.

Ten years later, the committee began looking into the possibility of having St. Mary’s listed as an official historic landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. At the time, the group was told it wasn’t likely the church could be on the historic registry, and work towards that distinction fizzled out. With the years moving on and committee members aging and unable to serve, St. Mary’s again found itself unattended, left to time and the elements.

Interest renewed

The interest in restoring and preserving St. Mary’s came back with force in August 2024, when vandals broke out three of the four stained glass windows on the north side of the church.

“It was a bad thing, but a very good thing, because it sparked interest in the building again,” Kaster said.

Kastler had been around for the 2012 talks of getting the church on the historic register, and knew now it needed to happen.

“This time, I’ve decided to just take things into my own hands.”

And so far, so good.

The committee has passed the first round of inquiries by the State Historic Preservation Office to become a candidate for the National Historic Registry as a historical landmark based on architectural significance.

“This is a great example of a rural vernacular gothic revival church of that time period,” Kastler said.

While the church is not what one might picture when they think of as a cathedral in a larger city, St. Mary’s has high-pointed gables, a steep roof pitch, a tall center tower that once held a bell, gothic stained-glass windows, arched windows, original board and batten siding, and small design details on the exterior, all of which align with the gothic revival architecture style.

The church has just three rooms – the sanctuary with confessional, sacristy and a vestibule that was added some time after the 1878 rebuild. The front door to the church is original as are the plaster ceilings. Plaster-made Stations of the Cross of an unknown age will again hang on the walls of the church, purchased by original church members.

Earlier this year, the Woodburn City Council signed a proclamation declaring St. Marys as a local historic landmark, which helps show the National Registry the importance of the building. The committee is working with a registry consultant, who has expressed excitement about St. Mary’s.

“Our registry consultant is really excited about the property and knows that it has a great chance of being on the registry,” Kastler said.

Now, Kastler is working her way through a near 60-page application for the registry, utilizing old records, photographs taken by her grandmother over the years and any other pieces of documentation she can find.

In working towards obtaining that national recognition, a large part comes down to necessary repairs to the church.

Funds needed

While some temporary fixes have been made – boarding up the broken windows, patching holes and applying fresh exterior paint – perhaps the biggest repair task is that of the church’s foundation.

Years of water running down the hill and getting in has caused the foundation on the north side to become rotten, with the sill plates deteriorated. In order to address those issues, the foundation will need to be raised so that the sills can be replaced and the floor joists repaired.

With some money raised earlier this year by way of fundraisers, Kastler applied for a Pillars Grant from CCDC, and presented a history of St. Mary’s, its future and repairs at CCDC’s May board meeting. The grant request was approved at the June CCDC board meeting.

“Brandi’s dedication and initiative in saving the church reminded our board that historic preservation is a significant part of maintaining a rewarding quality of life for our community,” Andrew B. Clark, CCDC executive director, said. “Many of our board members have history with the church, and through this grant, they’ll be able to help foster a place for future generations to visit and enjoy.”

With the funds, Kastler hired an Amish builder to take on the foundation repairs. As the church was built with native lumber, the builder will have access to the closest materials as the original via an Amish sawmill. The builder is able to work on the church from the outside in to replace the sills and help level the floor, maintaining the structural integrity of the church; they will be putting the original stone foundation back into place. The National Registry has given the committee methods to work within, making sure they stay true to the church’s original nature.

“Our motto going forward is to repair, not replace,” Kastler said.

Once the foundation is fixed, work can begin on repairing the stained glass windows – brightly-colored windows with a marbling/swirl effect. The risk of the windows coming loose or breaking during foundation work is too great to undertake. A window company from Des Moines has given estimates for new windows. The Amish crew were able to begin work on the foundation the first week of July.

Future plans

Getting St. Mary’s on the historic registry is paramount, as that will open up additional grant money. Beyond that, making sure the church has a source of income to be able to sustain itself is being taken into thought.

“We want to have it open as a nondenominational, quaint wedding chapel venue…it is the classic little white chapel,” Kastler said.

Having the church open for pop-up boutiques, antiques and handmade wares are also on the table as ways to bring in people and income.

Looking to the immediate future, the goal is to have both the foundation and windows repaired by September. On Sunday, Sept. 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a BBQ and open house for St. Mary’s is planned, coinciding with Woodburn Alumni Weekend, to show off the work that has been done.

While St. Mary’s holds personal meaning to Kastler – she spent a lot of time at the church as a child and was married there in 2003, and her family has spent a lot of their time working on preserving the church and its items – and other members of the committee past and present, saving it for future generations is just as important.

“I see how significant it is in our history. It tells a story of these people that came through and built the railroad,” Kastler said. “It’s worth saving… This is really important for all of us to keep the history alive for people to see it.”

With the land and first church older than the city of Woodburn, and one of the older standing buildings still in the county, something can be said for it surviving this far and its future outlook.

“... We want it to be a legacy, we want it to be able to be maintained long after we’re gone,” Kastler said. “[They] didn’t think it could be done, but I think it can be. I know it can be.”

Want to help?

For those interested in donating to the restoration and future repairs of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, donations can be made via Venmo to: @Friendsofstmaryswoodburn (no dash in link).

To learn more about grant opportunities through the Clarke County Development Corporation, contact Executive Director Andrew B. Clark at: 115 E. Washington St., Osceola, phone: (641) 342-2944 or email: info@clarkecountyiowa.com or visit https://osceolaclarkedev.com or https://clarkecountylife.com.