Saint Joseph, Hammonton 1890
-from Building God's Kingdom: A History of the Diocese of Camden, 1987
St. Joseph began as a mission of St. Nicholas, Egg Harbor, by its pastor, Father Esser, in 1880. The dedication of a new church took place in 1887; the building was on North Third Street. Father C. Romot was named first pastor, followed by Father B. Grom. After this the parish was re-united with St. Nicholas. The Missionary Fathers of the Sacred Heart assumed pastoral care of the parish in 1891, with Father P.M. Barral assigned to administer. From November 1893 until June 1895 the parish was again re-united with St. Nicholas, Egg Harbor. From June 1895 several pastors assumed pastoral care of the parish until in June 1901 the Pallottine Fathers (then known as the Fathers of the Pious Missions), who staff the parish today, assumed care of the parish.
St. Joseph's School opened in September 1922, staffed by the Religious Teachers Filippini. In 1935, a high school was established for boys studying for the Pallottine community. Although the high school was primarily for seminarians, a few local boys and girls were attending classes. In 1942, the seminary moved to Long Island, New York, but the secondary school continued at St. Joseph's. A new building housing both elementary and high schools was dedicated in November 1949. In 1953, a gymnasium was added.
The 1887 church was replaced in 1919. The present church structure was dedicated in May 1964. The 1908 rectory was replaced by another in 1973, a parish hall constructed in 1961 and Holy Sepulchre Cemetery established in 1957.
In 1962 the parish was divided to form St. Martin de Porres parish; later, the mission of the new parish was established as St. Anthony of Padua.
Historically St. Joseph's parish is tied to one of the cradles of Catholicism in South Jersey. The first church built south of Trenton, in what is now the Camden Diocese, was St. Mary's in Pleasant Mills. Bishop Patrick Kenrick of Philadelphia blessed the church and cemetery of St. Mary's in 1830. The church lasted until the collapse of the iron industry in 1860. By 1865, there were few families left in the vicinity and the church was boarded up. It was last under the jurisdiction of St. Nicholas. Egg Harbor. In 1885, the church was completely abandoned, and the original pews of St. Mary's were used for years in the old St. Joseph's Church. In April of 1900, a forest fire wiped out all traces of St. Mary's. A small cemetery remains under the care of the diocesan cemeteries department.
Another historic landmark is the Waterford Catholic community, where Mass was celebrated in the mid-18th century. This place was a mission of St. Joseph's in the early 1900s until 1925 when it was transferred to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Berlin in 1925. It was returned to St. Joseph's in 1940. In the mid 40s, the Waterford mission, formerly named Holy Family named St. Anthony's in 1929, was attached to the newly-established parish of Assumption, Atco.
The present pastor of St. Joseph's is Father Pat Amabile, S.A.C.
