1880-1890:
- Pioneers drove their wagons to Spokane. They attended Mass offered occasionally by missionary priests in the homes of pioneers: M.M. Crowley and John Dashbach.
1891:
- About 30 valley pioneers met with Father Barnabas Held, chaplain at Sacred Heart Hospital, to plan their own church at Trentwood. One acre of land, the former site of St. Joseph's Church, Trentwood, was donated by James McLaughlin. An adjacent plot for the cemetery was the gift of Max Rauscher. Cash donations were collected by Joseph Ulowetz. Construction was started in 1891 on a small chapel. The first church in the Spokane Valley, the building was completed in 1892 under the supervision of Richard Rotchford, able carpenter.
- Father Barnabas Held was the first regular missionary priest, serving from 1891 to 1897. His parish included the whole Spokane Valley on both sides of the Spokane River.
- The first burial in the cemetery was Permilia Rotchford.
1892:
- The first Requiem Mass in the unfinished church was for James McLaughlin, donor of the land.
- The Ladies Altar Society was organized.
1891 - 1908:
- Missionary priests from Coeur d' Alene, Fathers Held & Faust and Diocesan Prist Father Purcell, cared for the spiritual needs of the Parish.
1892 - 1900 (except 1897):
- Two months of Summer school sessions for the religious instruction of the young people were conducted by the Benedictine Sisters from Uniontown and Colton.
1894:
- A primitive convent was constructed on the premises to house the Sisters.
1908:
- The small white wooden chapel was enlarged to accommodate the growing population.
1908 - 1913:
- St. Joseph's parish was under the spiritual guidance of Fathers Kern, Buschor, Adams and Rupert, who were Jesuit Missionary Priests from Gonzaga, Spokane.
1912:
- The Spokane Valley was divided into two parishes, St. Mary's on the South side of the Spokane River, and St. Joseph's on the North side of the river.
1913:
- A rectory was built at St. Mary's church in Veradale, and Father Henry Deichmann was appointed to serve both parishes.
1928:
- St. Joseph's, the little white church, long a landmark in the valley, was destroyed by a fire.
1929:
- The new brick church, built on the original site, was dedicated to Bishop Charles D. White. A deep well was drilled on the premises. Additional land was purchased for a right-of-way and access to the highway, and for the cemetery. Holdings were increased to 15 acres.
1913 - 1953:
- St. Joseph's continued as a mission church during the pastorate of Msgr. Deichmann, Fathers Anthony Dosch, John Condon, M.P. Shiel, and Father Gerald McDonald, S.J.
1931:
- Monsignor Deichmann, parish priest from 1913 to 1930, was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery.
1936:
- A "chapel-of-ease", Our Lady of the Lake, was built by and for the campers and summer residents at Newman Lake.
1952:
- St. Joseph's Pioneer Cemetery Group started fundraising for perpetual care of the cemetery.
1953:
- After 62 years as a mission church, a parish rectory was built and Father John Prince was appointed the first resident pastor at St. Joseph's. Other resident priests serving the parish included Fathers Cyril Feisst, Alfred Joda, Charles Skok, Msgr. William Van Ommeren, and Msgr. John Coleman. Church holdings were increased to 22 acres.
1956:
- The shrine, planned and constructed by Henry Arbes on the steep hillside adjacent to the cemetery, was dedicated.
1974:
- Father Charles M. Depiere, pastor of Mary Queen, Spokane, was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's.
1974 - 1982:
- New oak pews and carpet installed in the church. Main altar in the sanctuary replaced by a new acrylic one. Interior of the church repainted and rewired. Parish Hall kitchen completely modernized with the latest equipment. The beautification project of the parish grounds included: new gravel on the enlarged parking area, additional security lights, flowering plum trees planted along the access road to the church, rebuilding of the path and concrete wall leading to the hill shrine, construction of the cemetery grounds of a permanent altar, dedicated to the memory of the youth of the parish and used for outdoor evening Masses during summer. Complete re-organization of the CCD program with a Religious Education Director and a full staff of teachers and volunteers. ALL THESE IMPROVEMENTS AND MANY MORE WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROSITY AND UNSELFISH DEDICATION OF THE PARISHIONERS OF ST. JOSEPH'S.
(Historical data compiled by Mrs. Mary (Hanly) Berglund October, 1982)
1983 - 1985:
- Father Eugene Glatt came to St. Joseph's Parish. He replaced Fr. Depiere who retired to his home on east Fourteenth Ave., in Spokane. During his presence at St. Joseph's, Fr. Gene made many friends and acquaintances. Father Glatt felt at home in this Parish and the congregation was very fond of him. I can recall only one drawback while he was here and that was Fr. Gene's encounter with the rattlesnakes. During the hot summer, the snakes would come near the parish house and lie in the grass next to the garage. The snakes surely lay there only to torment Fr. Gene! He learned quickly after that, to walk the grounds very carefully.
- He administered to the sick and the healthy alike and was a man of much compassion and truth in the teachings of the Word of God. But, as progress moved further out into the valley, the population was growing at a rampant pace and St. Joseph's was bursting at the seams at regular Sunday Masses. Every Sunday the aisles were full of chairs, which made for very tight quarters during communion. The old timers used to say, "If you want to come to Christmas Eve Midnight Mass, best be here at 9:30 PM." All of these factors became part of the equation:....Do we add onto the existing Church or build a new Church and where would that be? Also, many of the sons and daughters of the original pioneers did not want to move from "their Church." And, where will we get the money??....such a dilemma! Also during this exciting time, the parish hired its very first, full-time secretary, Carolyn Mathews (Rohr).
1985 - 1991:
- It was at this time, the Bishop assigned Father Roy Floch as the Pastor of St. Joseph's, to head up the first phase of the fund raising program and unite the congregation with a building commitee and other various programs. One of the first items Fr. Roy initiated was an "Annual Food Fair," with the proceeds going into the building fund. Another fund raiser was the "Woodchuck Run." This brought runners from afar to participate and contribute to the building fund. A three mile run east through the cemetery and up to the top of the mountain and back to the Church, WHEW! What a Run! Father Roy and the planning-building committee worked long hours on many of the details and obstacles involving a project of this magnitude. Finally, an architect was commissioned for the preliminary drawings of the "New Church." It would be brick on the outside and open beams on the inside to resemble the "old church."And so the first phase was off to a great start with Fr. Roy leading the way.
- Father Roy was unique in his pastoral duties; the Saturday night Mass was for the children. They would gather around and sit at the altar during Mass. What a sight to behold...he would say..."Jesus loved the little children too." Father Roy's attention to the children helped improve St. Joe's Youth Program. He also wanted the adult congregation to benefit from weekly home Masses during the Lenten period. The service was held at different homes each week and was always followed by a potluck.
- Father Roy was a very energetic and caring person. He had an excellent singing voice and often led the congregation in hymns without any accompaniment. The Sunday sermons were awe inspiring and definitely unique with his delightful sense of humor.
- But all good things end and so for Fr. Roy his tenure at St. Joseph's came to an end. Uncle Sam called him to duty in the U.S. Army as a Chaplain...What a sad day when we all said..."Good-bye Father Roy, Good luck and be sure to write."
1979 - 1990:
- Father James Grant was the unofficial Pastor of the Newman Lake Chapel, "The Lady of the Lake," located on the east shore at Hampton's Resort. Fr. Jim was retired and this part-time ministry helped keep his spiritual tools honed. He would come by boat from across the lake and would be waiting for all the lake folks to arrive at the 8:00am Mass, the only Mass at the Chapel on Sunday. Although the Chapel was part of St. Joseph's, Fr. Jim had adopted it as his very own parish. He had clean-up days and he furnished the refreshments and the lake folks brought the food. Work on the old Chapel was always an enjoyment! Prior to Mass he would ring the bell loud with a brusque "clang-clang-clang" and with a wink as he was walking into church say, "Its time for the Protestants to wake up too." Many of the old timers still reminisce about sitting in the Chapel on a bright sunny, summer morning. The smell of the unfinished wood and pine trees, the breeze from the lake and the faraway sound of an outboard and Father Grant reading the Gospel...Oh such memories!
- Father Grant assisted at St. Joseph's from time to time and on special occasions. He was and is still remembered by "The Lake Parishioners" and has a fond spot in their hearts. But with the centralizing of the new church at Otis Orchards and the moving of church properties,...The "Old Chapel" was closed down and the site sold. Another end to an era that began in the 1930s, when the Foster family donated the land and helped with the financing and building of the Chapel at the lake.
(History of Fathers Glatt, Flock and Grant supplied by Marge & Bill Fautch...Newman Lake, WA - 1999)
As the valley continued to grow, the needs of St. Joseph's Parish grew even more. As many stood in the aisles or outside the back door for Sunday Masses, the need for a larger church was acknowledged and the task of fund raising began. When Father Richard Hemenway arrived in 1991, he began plans for a new church to be located on Arden Road. Construction of the new building began with the ground breaking ceremony, May 7th, 1994. The present church was dedicated in March of 1995.
1996:
- Fr. Jim Managan was appointed pastor of the parish.
1999:
- Deacon Tom Heafey was appointed to serve at St. Joseph.
2002:
- Teresa McCann was hired as DRE.
2008:
- Fr. Mike Kwiatkowski was appointed pastor of the parish.
2020:
Fr Jose Millan was appointed paster of the parish