St. Joseph's Seraphic Seminary, Callicoon, N.Y.
St. Joseph’s Seminary is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On the application for its inclusion on the National Register St. Joseph’s was described as “a historical educational complex, with significant Romanesque style buildings and early twentieth century landscape elements. On a hill overlooking the Delaware River and the hamlet of Callicoon, it includes the largest native bluestone buildings in the river valley, and visually dominates the immediate geographic area.”
Construction on the main building at St. Joseph’s began in 1901 and was completed in 1910. The The four-story, timber-framed, clapboard-sided seminary barn was constructed in 1906. Holy Cross Chapel, also located on the property, was constructed in 1927. The chapel was described as a “two-story, bluestone, Romanesque style church. The gymnasium was constructed in 1930.
“Architecturally, spiritually and socially, St. Joseph’s had a profound impact on the river valley. Franciscans from the Seminary served as parish priests not only for the Callicoon congregation, but also for churches in the surrounding communities of Cochecton, Lake Huntington, Narrowsburg, Yulan, Pond Eddy, North Branch, Jeffersonville, Youngsville, Hankins, and Long Eddy. The Seminary’s architecture, particularly that of the chapel and the main building, is recognized as distinctive within the valley. Despite the fact that bluestone quarrying was a major industry in the area, these are the only large native stone buildings in the river valley. The Romanesque styling of the chapel is more elaborate and sophisticated than other local church architecture. Given its dominant location on the hillside, with the bell tower visible for several miles, both up and downstream, the Seminary has had an extraordinary visual impact on the valley.”
The seminary closed in the 1970s. In 1979, the Seminary property was sold to the United States Department of Labor and became the Delaware Valley Job Corps Training Center. At the center students between the ages of 16 and 24 received additional education in both academic and technical fields.
