Stepping Through Time: Catholic Heritage Center and Museum documents more than 200 years of history

Mary Jane Buchheit stands before signage taken from the Silver Dollar Tavern, a long-time Old Appleton establishment, in the Catholic Heritage Center and Museum at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Apple Creek, Mo. Buchheit is a volunteer at the museum.

Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

Stepping into the Catholic Heritage Center and Museum is like wandering into a journey through hundreds of years of Perry County history. In the museum’s two rooms near St. Joseph Catholic Church, visitors can walk through numerous generations of religious and family history from the close-knit Apple Creek area.

Volunteer Mary Jane Buchheit estimates the Catholic Heritage Museum contains personal artifacts from more than 100 families in the Southeast Missouri and St. Louis regions, many of whom still reside in the Perry County area. On the religious side of the museum, volunteer Bill Ernst says there are 400 to 500 religious artifacts from the area’s extensive Catholic history.

“[Visitors] will learn everything from how people lived to how they worshiped,” Ernst says. “They’ll learn a lot of history about how the Apple Creek area progressed; what it was, how it is and how it continues to be.”

Portraits and memorabilia of clergy throughout the history of St. Joseph's Catholic Church are displayed at the museum. In addition to the museum, the church grounds feature a natural spring coming out of a cave, along with a grotto for prayer and reflection.

Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

The museum was created some five or six years ago, as Ernst says the St. Joseph parishoners discussed opening the Catholic Heritage Center for several years. To start the process, Ernst says he brought some historic items from his uncle’s estate to create the building blocks for the museum.

“I said, ‘I have all kinds of stuff from my uncle’s farm that we acquired when we bought the place. I can open you up a museum real quickly!’” he says. “So, all of a sudden one day, I showed up with a bunch of artifacts from my uncle’s farm, and a couple weeks later, they opened the museum.”

Those historic washboards, farm equipment and kitchen items marked the start of the heritage center. From there, Ernst says it grew.

Books and photos at the Catholic Heritage Center and Museum illustrate the immigrant history of the families that make up the parish at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Apple Creek, Mo. The museum opened five to six years ago, volunteer Bill Ernst says.

Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

Both Buchheit and Ernst worked to organize the museum’s artifacts to create the best experience for visitors. The museum features two rooms of items — a religious room and a room for artifacts from the families in the Apple Creek area.

Buchheit says immigrants — mostly from Germany — settled in the Apple Creek area during the 1820s.

“It’s the history of the families of the lives who immigrated and the customs they had,” Buchheit says. “It’s the celebrations throughout the church years, all sorts of things like that.”

Costumes and T-shirts from the Hee Haw Show, which was an annual community production, hang on display at the museum. The two rooms of the museum include religious artifacts and belongings of Apple Creek families from the 1820s to the present.

Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

A few of the items in the museum are on loan, Buchheit says, but most are donated by local families.

The religious side of the museum contains items used in ceremonies, vestments worn by clergy, portraits of early priests at St. Joseph and more. The room includes sections for specific priests in the history of the parish and specific eras in Apple Creek history.

One display in the religious room connects the history of the Perry County church with a Catholic parish in a region of Germany, Ernst says. The collection helps to connect Apple Creek residents with the area of Germany that most immigrated from.

“It’s a small showcase, but it’s neat,” Ernst says.

Military uniforms worn by area service members hang in the museum. The museum documents more than 200 years of history in the Apple Creek area.

Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

Ernst says one of his favorite artifacts is a historic missal, which is a book that guides priests in conducting Mass. He says the missal is a “beautiful book” and extremely interesting to see in-person.

Overall, he says the museum is a must-see for all Perry County visitors.

“It’s a real neat place to see a museum that’s got some really cool artifacts from pretty far back from the church,” Ernst says. “It’s a place you don’t want to miss if you’re in the area.”

Wedding photos and family histories are displayed at the museum. Immigrants from Baden, Germany, settled in the Apple Creek area in the 1820s.

Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

In walking through the history of the area through the museum, visitors might learn more about the current parish at St. Joseph Church, too.

Buchheit says she is a lifelong member of the Apple Creek parish. In addition to assisting in the management of the parish, she also helps take care of the Catholic Heritage Center and Museum alongside Ernst. Meanwhile, Ernst was called to the parish as an organist in 1973 and continues to play as the organist for the parish through the present day.

Both Buchheit and Ernst describe the St. Joseph Parish and associated Catholic Heritage Center and Museum as having a close-knit, warm atmosphere.

“When you have smaller parishes like that, they’re like family — a very small family — and they’re very close-knit with each other,” Ernst says.

Want to go?

Tours of the Catholic Heritage Center and Museum, 138 St. Joseph Ln. in Perryville, Mo., are by appointment only; call the St. Joseph Parish Office at (573) 788-2330 to schedule a visit. Visitors can also tour the museum during one of the church’s breakfasts or dinners throughout the year or during their annual picnic each summer. Admission to the museum is free; donations are always welcome.