In 1874 with the I.G.N.R.R. coming to Palestine, there was a great need for a Catholic church. The church was built and named after St. Joseph, the patron saint of the working men.

In 1890, St. Jospeh's was destroyed by fire and the present building was started. It was completed and dedicated on June 18th, 1893 and named Sacred Heart.

The Architect was Nicholas J. Clayton, who is also known for the Bishop's Palace in Galveston, TX. 675,000 bricks were molded by hand and baked on the site from mud brought by wagon from the Trinity River. The building has plastered interior walls, varnished oak, knotty pine and is of Victorian Gothic Style. The Stations of the Cross were hung between 1901 and 1915. The stained glass windows are from Italy and France. The church seats 500 comfortably and a maximum of 1,000.

On April 25, 1926 a new Pilcher pipe organ replaced the old reed organ at the cost of 5,000. This organ is still used today for special occasions.

The stained glass windows from left to right, facing the alter are: St. Rose of Lima, Peru; St. Anne with the child Mary, St. Joseph with the child Jesus, the Ascension of Christ, Our Lady of Sorrows, (behind the alter) St. Dominic, St. Frncis, St. Luke, St. John, St. Margaraet-Mary, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Mathew, St. Mark, St. Paul and St. Peter, The Crucifixion of Christ, The Assumption of Mary into Heaven, St. John the Evangelist, St. Paul of Taurus, and Mary Quenn of Heaven.

The stained glass windows in the choir loft are (left to right) St. Cosmos, St. Damien, St. Cecelia, St. Joan of Arc, and St. Patrick.

The mural "The Transfiguration of Christ" was printed in the 1920's and retouched in 1946. In 1935, the original wooden altar which had been in use since 1880 was replaced with a marble altar. The two wooden side altars were also replaced with ones made of marble.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and is one of five churches with this type of architecture remaining in the State of Texas.