St. Joseph, Cordova, MD

In that year, he wrote in his diary that on August 31 he began my mission and journey for Queen Anne and Talbot Counties on the Eastern Shore. He would spend the remaining 23 year s of his life ministering to the Catholic population over three states and in ten counties. On March 18, 1765, Father Mosley purchased 207 acres for $253 in what is now Cordova, MD in Talbot County. The nearest priest was 50 miles away at Saint Francis Xavier, and the nearest Catholic family was seven miles away. it was not near anything but was the center point of his mission territory. He brought with him eight black slaves to work the plantation.

He describes the miserable shack in which he lived for a time. My dwelling house as nothing but a few boards driven from oak trees, not sawed plank, and these mailed together to keep out the coldest air. Not one brick or stone about it; no plastering, and no chimney, but a little hole in the roof to let out the smoke. In this I lived till the winter, when I got it plastered to keep off the cold and built a brick chimney. From this humble beginning came Saint Joseph in Cordova, the second-oldest continuous place in the Catholic worship in the Diocese of Wilmington.

The residence and chapel were under the same roof; this arrangement being adopted in several of the Maryland missions, in order to evade the operation of the law at the time, which forbade public places of worship for Catholics. The priest, as a private gentleman, attached the chapel to his residence. It was considered to be a part of his private property to which his neighbors were invited. The cemetery adjoining the church is almost as old as the church itself. Records of Father Mosley's note that Mr. Charles Seth was the first person to be buried on these grounds on January 3, 1767.

During the Revolutionary War for American Independence, Father Mosley built a brick chapel and dwelling house at Cordova. This chapel has been expanded and is the current Saint Joseph Mission Church.

In 1848, some alterations and changes were made to the Church but to what extent is not definitely known. While searching through the records of the Church, papers were found asking parishioners to subscribe to the fund. The Jesuits left Saint Joseph in 1874, at which point it became a mission of Saint Peter the Apostle in Queenstown until it was placed under the direction of Saints Peter and Paul in Easton in 1898. The 350-acre farm surrounding Saint Joseph's was held until 1882, when it was sold to John P. Steele. The Church and a few acres surrounding it, were retained. The church was remodeled into its present design in 1900.

Saint Joseph in Cordova is the second oldest Catholic Church on the Eastern Shore and is the oldest Catholic Church in continuous use.