St. Joseph Catholic is one of only three Catholic churches featured on the HRCGA site. That rarity reflects the history of Catholicism in Georgia, which developed mainly in cities like Savannah and Augusta rather than in the rural backcountry where Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian congregations flourished after the Revolutionary War.

Beginning in the 1870s, Catholic Mass in rural Screven County was held in the homes of Slavic and German immigrant families who had settled here after the Civil War. For decades, these families practiced their faith quietly in their own homes until 1908, when visiting priest Rev. (later Monsignor) Joseph D. Mitchell discovered a small but devoted Catholic population in the Bay Branch area. Convinced they needed a formal place of worship, he helped establish Saint Joseph Church, which was built on land donated by Pete Getsinger and dedicated in 1911. For many years, it was the only Catholic church between Savannah and Augusta.

Though it no longer functions as a parish, Mass is still held here on special occasions. The church remains much as it was more than a century ago — a humble, beautiful structure with its original pews, kneeling benches, organ, and wood stove for heat. Electricity and a wooden ceiling were later additions, but there is still no running water; “facilities” remain the woods behind the cemetery. The simplicity of St. Joseph is part of its enduring charm.

The adjoining cemetery holds the graves of many European immigrants who came seeking affordable farmland. Their Old World names speak to the diverse heritage of this quiet corner of Georgia. In 1958, as Catholic communities expanded throughout the region, Saint Joseph became a mission of Our Lady of the Assumption in Sylvania.

More than a century later, the Bay Branch chapel is still lovingly maintained. The late Loretta Newton of Sylvania faithfully cleaned the church and prepared it for Masses celebrated by Rev. Lou Lussier, O.S. Cam., pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption. Loretta and her husband Frank even reserved their final resting place in the church cemetery — a lasting symbol of their stewardship. Today, Loretta rests there herself, surrounded by the history she helped preserve.

Quiet, simple, and unchanged, St. Joseph Catholic Church remains a testament to the faith and perseverance of the rural Catholic families who built it and kept it alive for more than 100 years.