St. Joseph's Catholic Church

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, which now houses the Bovill Branch of the Latah County Library, was originally built in Elk River, Idaho.  Elk River, Idaho was founded in 1910 to serve the needs of the workers of the Clearwater Timber Company.  This church was built in Elk River in 1928 and was designed by the Boise architectural firm of Tourtellotte and Hummel, a firm with many significant buildings throughout Idaho including the Idaho State Capitol.  This church is very similar to the Parma Catholic Church also designed by Tourtellotte and Hummel.  The church in Elk River had a few differences and has more ornate details.  The Clearwater Timber Company closed their mill in Elk River in 1933 and many houses were moved out of the town on skids in the years following.  This church was moved to Bovill, a 17-mile trip, in 1935.  The church has served as a mission for the Catholic Church which began under the Bovill parish and later under the Potlatch parish until 1997.  As a mission church this church had no permanent priest, rather had a building in which a traveling priest would preach in.  There were many pastors who preached in this church including Father Zuur from 1918-1921 and in 1933 Father John Kunkel lead the congregation.

In 1997 the church was no longer of use to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise and was put up for sale.  The church was purchased by the Bovill Library Historic Preservation Committee.  The church was slowly renovated to suit the needs of the library through fund-raising and volunteer labor.  The building opened again as the Bovill branch of the Latah County Library District in July of 1999.

References:

Bovill Library Website:  http://www.latahlibrary.org/branches/bovill.asp  Accessed 4/30/2014

Bishop Edward Kelley. Unpublished priest biographies and church history. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise Collection, Boise, ID.

Margaret Planagan to Judith Austin. Letter. Latah County Historical Society, Moscow, ID.

The Official Catholic Directory, P.J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, NY., 1920, Google Books, accessed 4/30/2014, p.232.

The Official Catholic Directory, 1983, P.J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, NY., The Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise Collection, Boise, ID, p.232.

Wright, Patricia, Inventory Sheet for Group Nominations: Idaho State Historical Society Boise, Idaho: Tourtelotte and Hummel Architecture, 1980.