This magnificent structure began with the laying of its cornerstone in July 1816. Five years of hard work by its Bishop, Benedict Joseph Flaget, to raise enough money to begin the building had preceded this historical day in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral is the first west of the Allegheny Mountains and is listed by the U.S. Library of Congress as a national landmark possessing exceptional interest and worthy of careful preservation. In 1811, three years after he was appointed, Bishop Flaget arrived at Bardstown, traveling down the Ohio River by flatboat and overland from Louisville by wagon, accompanied by a group of seminarians. Bishop Flaget was able to build a small brick church near Bardstown, named St. Thomas. Soon he was consumed with the idea of erecting a cathedral of majestic proportions. Since most of the settlers were very poor, people contributed their materials and their labor as carpenters and masons to build the cathedral.
The church is located on Stephen Foster Avenue. The cemetery is located on North Third Street about 1 mile from the church near the intersection of Hwy 245 and Hwy 31 (North Third Street).
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This picture is taken from in the cemetery looking towards the intersection of Hwy 245 and Hwy 31.

Taken Feb 2021