Saint Joseph the Woodworker Shrine

Four miles from Valley Falls, Kansas, atop an isolated hill in the middle sits a beautiful Wooden Steeple that once adorned a Catholic Church over 60 miles away in the town of Wamego. 

Mounted on a concrete block visually in the distance, the church is strikingly beautiful with copper-colored, steel shingles. Originally, it sat atop St. Bernards Church and the building itself is from the turn of the century.

At the bottom of the hill is a marker that has a copy of a local paper that discusses how the project came to be, and how the steeple made its way to this little hidden hill. 

At the base of the steeple is a chapel that feels very warm and inviting. It has a wooden pew inside to sit, various artwork, and a 19th-century stained glass window from another church salvage from Topeka.

It’s on private property, but the landowners and family who relocated the steeple welcome visitors to pull off the road, read the sign, and venture to the base of the church.