The original Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Springdale was a wood-frame building, painted white, similar to St. Mary of the Rosary Parish in Chewelah and St. Joseph’s at Jump Off Joe. It was built in 1911 by Father Balthasar Feusi, SJ, from Chewelah at a cost of only $500.

That church served the Springdale area until the mid-1960s, when it was replaced by a humble cinderblock church and parish hall built through a gift from the Catholic Extension Society of the U.S. The original church’s bell was stored in the utility room of the new church, awaiting an opportunity to again welcome worshipers to Sacred Heart.

For many years, the bell was forgotten. But recently the Sacred Heart Parish Council decided to return it to a place of prominence. Sacred Heart parishioner Carl Schauppner researched the bell’s history and assisted the Parish Council in choosing a worthy cupola to house the bell. A building fund was established and donations came in from parishioners of Sacred Heart Church and the other two parishes of Southern Stevens County: St. Mary of the Rosary, Chewelah, and Holy Ghost in Valley.

On July 20, Schauppner and his crew installed the bell atop Sacred Heart.

Janet Buche, who had listened to the bell rung by her grandfather in the old church as a child, had the honor of ringing the bell before the Saturday evening Mass that day — she declared the peal as beautiful now as it was then.