Baraboo Gothic

St. Joseph Church in Baraboo, WI was constructed in 1902 under the direction of Father John Durward, the son of the renowned 19th century Wisconsin poet and painter Bernard Durward. The priest published an account of the design and construction process that would resonate with the contemporary church builder for its references to fund-raising and committee work. In the preface to his essay, he offered an argument for the use of Gothic-revival form in the American Catholic churches of his day. He proclaimed that “Free will and grace, aspiration and love, are found in the Gothic" adding that an important prerogative of Gothic-revival architecture was "retaining nature, superadding grace."