Sisters of St. Joseph
In 1902 nine Sisters of St. Joseph from the mother-house at Le Puy took charge of the school in the French parish of St-Roch, Fall River, Massachusetts. The accession of other members from the mother-house enabled the community to take charge of three other schools in the city attached to French parishes. In 1906 St. Theresa's Convent was formally opened as the provincial house of the community, which was legally incorporated in the same year, and a novitiate was established. In the mid 1970s, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Fall River merged with the Springfield Congregation.
St. Joseph Church (St. Joseph, Tennessee)
The current church building is a large structure built in 1885 by the church's parishioners from ashlar cut stone that they had quarried at a nearby site. It has a stucco exterior and a square bell tower with a short octagonal steeple that is roofed with tin shingles. It has an unusually elaborate interior that is largely the work of John Sliemers, who served as the local parish priest from 1901 to 1903 and from 1914 to 1934. Both the main altar and side altars have elaborate carvings, while lathe-turned balusters support the chancel rail and the rear gallery. Religious scenes are depicted in stained-glass windows and in paintings on the interior walls.