CONSTRUCTION OF ST. FIDELIS BASILICA
EXCAVATION WORK
A total of 3500 cubic yards of earth were moved in the digging of the basement under the Chapel and Sacristies. A shallow basement under the church provides walking space and access to the plumbing, heating, and electric wiring located beneath the floor. Trenches for the footings and concrete foundation walls measured 4 to 5 feet in width and to a depth of 8 feet 8 inches below ground level. The footings for the piers footings also extend 8 feet 8 inches below ground level. The footings for the piers measure from 5 to 7 feet square, depending on the size of Bedford stone bases and pillars that support the stone arches and walls. The large buttresses on the north and south side of the church required additional footings. The purpose of the buttresses is two fold. They reinforce the high stone walls and add beauty to the structure.
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The trenches for the footings and foundations for the two large towers extend to a depth of 12 feet 8 inches below ground level. The concrete footings are 8 feet in width and about 4 feet in depth. The base of the footings measures 26 feet square. The underground concrete walls resting on the above footings measure about 5 feet in width. Upon these footings and foundation walls rest the entire weight of the towers.
The footings and foundation walls for the two center piers at the west entrance of the church are 9 feet below ground level and measure 6 feet square. The two side piers at the entrance are a part of the tower walls and are equally well constructed. These piers bear the weight of the wall between the tow towers and the supporting arches.
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Horse scrapers were used to dig the basement, however much of the digging was done b hand. Ground that was not needed for back filling had to be removed by wagon from the premise. The cost of excavation work amounted to $1,400.
FOOTINGS AND FOUNDATION WALLS
The running of the concrete footings and the forming for the concrete walls consumed much time and hard labor. All the concrete was mixed by hand in large wooden troughs with a concrete hoe and shovels. Concrete mixers were not available. Water for the mixing of the concrete was pumped by hand from a nearby well. Later a motor was used to pump the water. The concrete was transferred from the troughs to the foundation by wheelbarrows or shoveled into the forms. The footings on the north, east and south sides average four feet or more in width and one and one half feet in depth. The concrete foundation walls are no less than two feet six inches in width. They extend to ground level where the stone walls begin. On corners and other points of stress the foundation walls are wider and so are the footings.
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The concrete piers under the floor that support the floor, pillars and arches vary in width from three to four feet with footings from five and one half feet to seven and one half feet square in size. The piers footings extend eight feet below ground level and to a height of one foot below floor level. The piers supporting the center of the church’s floor are two foot square and of concrete with a 3 foot square base footing. The sanctuary, sacristies and chapel floors are likewise supported by large piers. There are a total of 29 supporting piers.
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Wooden 12 inch by 12 inch beams resting on the piers running the full length of the church, three in number, support the 2 by 12 inch floor joists spaced 12 inches apart.
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The building required a total of 150,000 board feet of lumber, the cost amounted to $5,000. Carpentry (Labor) $4,000. Joinery (Millwork) $3,000.
MATERIALS USED
Besides the native limestone, other materials that were used for the construction of the church were concrete, crushed rock, sand and leftover stone from the dismantled church. Sand for the church was hauled by wagon from the Peter Sander farm located north east of town. It required 4000 or more cubic yards to build the church. One and one third cubic yard of sand was considered a good wagon load, or a total of 3000 or more wagon loads. The wagons were loaded and unloaded by hand.
Reinforcing rods were not in use then, instead crushed rock was added to the concrete to give it added strength. A total of 850 cubic yards of crushed rock were incorporated in the mixture. The rock were also used in the mortar between the outer and inner walls. Doing this, it gave added strength to the walls and also serves as a water proofing for the inner wall. The cost of the crushed rock was $3,000.
A total of 2300 barrels of cement were required. A barrel of cement weighed 376 pounds or a total of 864,800 pounds, costing $3,450. To bear the tremendous weight of the walls the mixture had to be rich in texture. Lime was added to the mortar used in walling the stone. This made the mortar more adhesive to the stone. Cost of the lime was $650.
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​The outer walls with the exception of the tower walls measure 2 to 3 feet in width. The stone from the dismantled church were used for the inner walls. The corner walls and other places where added support was required the walls are considerably wider. The cost of the concrete used, not figuring the sand used, amounted to $9,350.
THE BELL TOWERS
The immense weight of the tower walls required a good foundation. The architect and engineer did a masterful job in calculating the required concrete footings and foundation needed to support this weight. The concrete footings are 26 feet square and 4 or more feet in depth, 12 feet 8 inches below ground level. The foundation walls measure 21 feet square and over 4 feet in width. The first 58 feet of the walls in height are 4 feet in width. The next 21 feet in height the walls measure 3 feet in width. The upper 21 foot section the walls are reduced to 2 feet 6 inches in width. The total height of the stone tower walls is 100 feet. The wooden roof on the towers extend upward 41 feet to the tip of the cross. The total height is 141 feet.​
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The center pillars and the two side pillars which are a part of the tower walls have a stone center faced with Bedford stone slabs. The arches resting on these pillar, the approach to the church and the front steps are faced with a Bedford stone slab. They were precut at the mill. Only the ends were finished to the proper length by local masons.
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​The roofs on the church were well constructed of wood, well braced with trusses and cross beams. Slate shingles cover the roofs. Mr. Whitcome, chief carpenter built the trusses for the roof at the site. He was not a local resident. The cost of the slate shingles, copper sheeting, galvanized iron, and tin work mounted to $4,500.
DIMENSIONS
This massive Romanesque structure stands in the form of a cross facing to the west. Its majestic towers stand on the west end of the church. On the facade above the round rose window a statue of St. Fidelis, the patron saint of the church stands in a niche in the wall as if to keep watch. The church is 220 feet long including the steps. 110 feet wide at the transepts, and 75 feet high at the nave. Its ceiling is 44 feet high above the floor level. The seating capacity is 1,100. The north and south side walls stand 27 feet high. The recessed walls on the north and south side stand 28 feet 4 inches in height from the base of the stone arches that support these walls and rest on the interior pillars. On these walls rest the main roof of the church.
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The large round rose window of the west side of the church measure 13 feet in diameter and it is set in a two foot 6 inch circular stone arch. The round window on the north and south side in the transept measure 9 feet in diameter and are also set in a circular stone arch. The transepts measure 40 feet in length and 17 feet in width. The spacious sanctuary measures 38 feet in depth from the steps to the rear wall, 31 feet 10 inches wide in the recessed area then extends to the full width of the church where the side altars stand.
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The Chapel in the rear of the church is 30 feet square with a five foot hallway on three sides. Large sacristies occupy the space on either side of the sanctuary. Originally wall space was provided for six confessionals. The two rear confessionals were never installed and instead the space was used for shrines. Some years ago one of the north confessionals was removed and in its place a side door entrance was installed.
THE GRANITE PILLARS
There are eight round and six octagon shaped pillars all measuring 10 feet and 10 inches in length. They are solid granite. The two large square pillars in the sanctuary have a concrete center faced with a four inch granite slab, called veneered. The two corners in the sanctuary having the appearance of a pillar are a part of the stone wall with two sides covered with four inch granite slab. All the pillars rest on a special carved granite collar, 13 ½ inches high, which rest between the Bedford stone base and the pillar. Each pillar is capped with a capital upon which rest the stone arches that support the upper stone walls. The capitals were carved locally from a large piece of Bedford stone. Each capital is 2 feet 7 inches in height and has a 3 foot square head. All the capitals were carved by one man with the exception of one that was carved by John J. Linnenberger, a local carpenter and wood carver. The carver’s name is unknown. He was not a local man. It required about one months time to carve one capital. The cost of the Bedford stone bases, capitals, the front entrance arches, the approach to the church and the slabs on the front steps amounted to $3,600. The carving and cutting work cost $3,250. On a close examination of the capitals it can readily be understood why it required so much time to finish one capital.
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The manner in which the heavy stone bases and pillars were handled and put into the church and placed in their respective positions has for many years been a subject of discussion with no one knowing the details. Remember that at that time no power lifting machinery was available. It was done by the use of black and tackles and hand winches. The following will answer many of these questions.
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Several years ago prior to his death the late Mr. Herman J. Linnenberger, a parishioner, carpenter and builder, related to me how it was done. His duty was to construct ramps, scaffold and derricks needed to elevate the stone, mortar and other material where the masons were walling the rock in the walls. Two and four man hand winch lines threaded into a block and tackle which was attached to a beam extending from one derrick to another high above the floor. He designed a rather unique dual block and tackle system used to pull the material up to the desired height by the use of a horse which supplied the power. Two block and tackles were fastened to the top beam. The long cable was threaded into the twin blocks and extended to the ground where the cable ran through a well anchored pulley and then extended some distance along the ground where the cable ran around in an anchored pulley back to another anchored pulley and then upward into the block and tackle and to which a platform was attached upon which the stone and mortar were wheeled in by wheel barrows ready to be lifted up. A platform was also attached to the other block and tackle. The horse was hitched to one cable that ran away from the building. Going outward the horse pulled one cable that lifted the load up and the other platform came to the ground to be loaded. When the platform reached the desired height a whistle was blown for the horse to stop. The horse held the platform in place until the whistle was blown to lower that platform and raise the other. The cable lines were so times that one platform was up, the other down. John M. Windholz, a resident at St. John’s Rest Home, led and trained the horse that was hitched to the cable line. A blow of the whistle gave the signal for the horse to pull and lift a load of stone or mortar. The whistle was blown when the load reached the desired height. The horse held the load in place until unloaded. A blow of the whistle meant for the horse to turn around and to pull up a load on the other block and tackle.
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There is one survivor, Mr. Anton Groff, who worked throughout the construction period related how the Base stones and pillars were moved into the church and erected. A wooden track of heavy planks was laid, on which the stones and pillars were rolled by wrapping ropes around them and a number of men pulling on the ropes slowly rolled them to their respective places. They were aided by men using poles as a heel on the back side. All the pillars came from the factory with deep slanting slots and pin holes cut into one end. A self locking device was placed into the slots and pinned. A cable from a four man hand operated winch was attached to this device and the pillars were gradually up ended and lifted up and set in place. The capitals were lifted up in the same manner. Every stone, pillar and capital was set in place without any mishap or damage to the pillars. The granite pillars were quarried and finished at the mill in the state of Vermont, then shipped by raid to Victoria.