Edward Dominic Fenwick (1768-1832), hearing that Catholics in Ohio were longing for a priest, set out from Saint Rose in Springfield, Kentucky, the first Dominican priory in the country.  Jacob Dittoe (1760-1826) welcomed him into his home, and there in 1808, Fenwick celebrated the first Mass in the state.  A member of the Order of Friars Preachers, Fenwick had to return to his brethren, but was later assigned to serve as a missionary in Ohio.  In 1818, Dittoe bought and donated 320 acres.  Immediately, everyone helped to build the first church, a log structure only 22 feet in length by 18 in width.  On the 6th of December, the modest church was dedicated.

   Fenwick was joined by his nephew, Nicholas Dominic Young, O.P.  Soon a house was built for the friars with a kitchen, 2 bedrooms and even a living room.  Because of the rapidly increasing population, an addition was made to the church in 1821 with stone.   The following year, however, Fenwick was made the first bishop of Cincinnati, a new diocese encompassing Ohio, Michigan and more.

    What was left of the original church building was replaced with brick in 1828.  This second church was 82 feet long and adorned with a steeple.  It was dedicated on January 11, 1829.  In November of the same year, Fenwick came to ordain Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P. to the diaconate.  After his priestly ordination in 1830, this holy man had such a blessed apostolate around Michigan and Wisconsin that his cause for beatification is now underway.

    Vocations to the Order of Preachers turned the mission house into a priory.  That means that there were enough friars, who had professed their vows, to elect a prior and carry on religious life in its fullness.  This required a suitable building which was completed in 1837.  For a time, Saint Joseph Priory became the seat of a new Dominican province.  Richard Pius Miles, O.P. served as its first provincial, but the following year, he was made the first bishop of Nashville, Tennessee.

    The next provincial, Charles Pius Montgomery, began construction of the third church on the 4th of July, 1839, but it was not blessed until Saint Dominic's day, 1843.  This Gothic marvel, with its celestial spire reaching a height of 160 feet, was a grand and uplifting spectacle.  While in Cuba, Joseph Sadoc Alemany, O.P. obtained the Crucifix that hangs over the altar to this day.  Alemany later became the first bishop of Monterey, California, and then the first archbishop of San Francisco.

    A new priory was completed in 1849.  By the end of the next year, the old priory accommodated boys who had come for schooling.  An actual college was built between 1853-54, measuring 120 x 50 x 50 feet.  Enrollment peaked at 90 students.  Through the generosity of a Dominican Bishop, Francis Joseph O'Finan, it acquired a library of 2000 volumes.  Classes ran from September to July.

James Whelan, O.P. served as its first president, but was soon elected provincial.  Although he eventually succeeded Bishop Miles in Nashville, Whelan was buried at Saint Joseph.   Unfortunately, rising debt, a shortage of teachers and the Civil War forced the college to close in 1861, yet some of its graduates rose to the rank of general.

    In January of 1864, Saint Joseph Church and Priory were destroyed by fire, probably originating from a stove.  Its brick shell and a few saved furnishings were all that remained.  The friars had to move into the old priory and the vacant college.  The Master of the Order in Rome, Vincent Alexander Jandel, O.P., commanded them to rebuild.  Within three years, the church was ready for worship.  Then on June 8, 1866, the academy for girls in Somerset suffered a fire.   The Dominican seminarians and professors, therefore, moved temporarily to Saint Rose in Kentucky, so that the sisters could use Saint Joseph College.   They did for the next two years.
    James Edelen, O.P., while he was the procurator in 1872, created a lake to supply water. In time, a dock and a pavilion were added to Lake Edelena, with a fireplace nearby for social gatherings.

    Then in 1879, the college was dismantled to provide materials for a larger priory that was dedicated in 1882 on Saint Joseph's Day.  Francis Aloysius Spencer, O.P. connected the church and priory in 1886 with a choir.  Its 40 oak stalls were carved by hand, and the bell on its roof summoned the friars to the Liturgy of the Hours.

     Since 1900, burials have been in the new cemetery called God's Acre.  The Dominican studium was moved to Washington, D.C. in 1905, and hence Saint Joseph became the novitiate again.  Then in 1910, the old and new priories were connected by a second floor bridge.
    James Bertrand Connolly, O.P. enhanced the church for the centennial in 1918, especially with Dominican paintings and stained-glass windows.  The latter were made it Munich, Germany, for the old Saint Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City.  A new window of Saint Thomas Aquinas was placed in the choir.  From August 4-6, that is from the old Saint Dominic's Day to the Transfiguration, bishops, diocesan priests, religious sisters and the laity joined in the anniversary with solemn Masses and a picnic.

    Sadly, the Dominican novices and sisters left in 1925.  Saint Joseph was reduced to a simple parish.  The pastor resided in the sister's convent across the street.  Sisters Fanny and Theresa had lived there since around 1850.  With great humility and fortitude, they had done the domestic chores for decades.  Sister Theresa died in 1912 at the age of 92.  The building was replaced before 1900 when the Dominican Sisters of Saint Mary of the Spring had come.

    The school returned in 1929, but after a decade, it was only for philosophy.  So in 1939, Saint Joseph Church hosted its last ordination of theology students.  Then in 1949, James John McLarney, O.P. began renovations.  He moved the choir stalls into the church.   In those days, there was an organ behind the altar.  He also moved the window of Saint Joseph from the north wall to the west end of the apse, and filled the opening with another window bearing the coat-of-arms of bishops who had lived at Saint Joseph's.  In 1955, the students left again and the novices came back.  Beginning in 1957, the old priory was used as the novitiate for lay brothers.  This lasted until 1968 when neither clerical nor lay novices remained.  The prior at that time, Adrian Ludger Dionne, O.P., nevertheless, celebrated a wonderful sesquicentennial with the people.  Much of this story is taken from a booklet written for that 150th anniversary by Robert Edward Brennan, O.P.   Finally in 1974, the priories of 1837 and 1882 were demolished.  After some time away, Father Dionne returned.  The rectory is again the old sisters' convent.
    Logs from the home of Jacob Dittoe have been discovered.  From these, a small replica of the first Saint Joseph Church was made.  Today, it is on display in a little museum in the sacristy, the room that was once the Dominican choir.   Much has been written about the great history of Saint Joseph Church.   Learning it is a blessing.