St. Joseph History

FROM 1861-1994

In 1857, Dennis and Bridget Hyland deeded three acres of land to Archbishop Alemany for $5.00.  It was on this land that Fr. Dalton, a priest from Grass Valley, built the mission of St. Joseph Church in Foresthill, 22 miles from Auburn in June 1958.  On June 17, 1860, Fr. Logan took over the church, which was elevated to parish status on July 14, 1861.  He also built a Catholic school on July 17, 1861.  In September of 1859, the first Catholic church in Auburn was dedicated under the patronage of St. Teresa of Avila, and was a mission of St. John the Baptist in Folsom.  Auburn was not a parish until July of 1886.  In March of 1911 a bigger church was built and became the parish we now know at this time, the church facing Lincoln Way; the parish of Foresthill became a mission, and the name “St. Joseph” was transferred to Auburn (suppressing the name “St. Teresa”).  In 1947, Fr. Sheehy built a Catholic school in Auburn, which was moved to the Atwood Road property in 1980.  Then, due to the tremendous growth in the area, another church under the original name of the church in Auburn, St. Teresa of Avila, was built next to the school in 1994.