E.M. Nattini began ministering in the Wood River Valley in the 1880s.

The population was growing rapidly, and he was soon able to raise funds for the construction of the first church of St. Charles, which began June 17, 1883.

[2][3] The current church was designed by architects Tourtellotte & Hummel in the Gothic Revival style, and built by Nicholas F. Wirtzberger in 1913 at cost of $7,200.

Among its distinctive elements is a stamped-metal belfry constructed in an ornate symmetrical plan.

[1] A surviving window from the first church building can be viewed at the Reinheimer Barn on Highway 75 south of Ketchum.