St. Nicholas' Catholic Church (Osgood, Ohio)

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St. Nicholas Catholic Church and Rectory
St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Osgood.jpg
Front of the church
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Location State Route 705 and Washington St., Osgood, Ohio
Coordinates 40°20′26″N84°29′33″W / 40.34056°N 84.49250°W / 40.34056; -84.49250 Coordinates: 40°20′26″N84°29′33″W / 40.34056°N 84.49250°W / 40.34056; -84.49250
Area Less than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1907
Architect Edward Schlochtmeyer
Architectural style Gothic Revival
MPS Cross-Tipped Churches of Ohio TR
NRHP reference # 79002841 [1]
Added to NRHP July 26, 1979

St. Nicholas' Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Osgood, Ohio, United States. Built in the first years of the 20th century, it houses one of the newest parishes in a heavily Catholic region of far western Ohio, but it has been recognized as a historic site for its architecture.

Catholic Church Christian church led by the Bishop of Rome

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2016. As the world's "oldest continuously functioning international institution", it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within the city of Rome in Italy.

Osgood, Ohio Village in Ohio, United States

Osgood is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 302 at the 2010 census.

Ohio State of the United States of America

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Of the fifty states, it is the 34th largest by area, the seventh most populous, and the tenth most densely populated. The state's capital and largest city is Columbus.

Contents

Parish history

A stained glass window in the church depicting Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas Church (Osgood, Ohio) - stained glass, Saint Nicholas - detail.jpg
A stained glass window in the church depicting Saint Nicholas

Although Osgood lies near such heavily Catholic communities such as Minster and Fort Loramie, [2] [3] :8 its early settlers were predominantly Protestant. [4] Accordingly, the formation of a Catholic parish in Osgood came far later than the formation of parishes in nearby villages; St. Augustine's Church in Minster and St. Michael's Church in Fort Loramie were established by 1850, [3] :2 but the foundations of a parish in Osgood were not laid until 1904, [4] and formal establishment of the parish came in 1906. [5] In its earliest years, the Mass was celebrated in common buildings; after worshipping for a time in a school, the parishioners purchased a barn for ecclesiastical purposes. For many years, the improvement of the parish's facilities was hindered by its size; the fewness of its members meant that money was frequently scarce. [4] Nevertheless, parishioners took significant steps in late 1906; their first temporary church was completed in September, and in this year they purchased a tract of land on the eastern side of the village. Construction of a permanent brick church soon began, and the finished church was dedicated on September 6, 1908 after costing $22,000. By 1914, membership had increased to eighty-five families from just thirty-five families in 1906. [5]

Minster, Ohio Village in Ohio, United States

Minster is a village in Auglaize and Shelby counties, in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is adjacent to the village of New Bremen to the north.

Fort Loramie, Ohio Village in Ohio, United States

Fort Loramie is a village in Shelby County, Ohio, United States, along Loramie Creek, a tributary of the Great Miami River in central western Ohio. It is 77mi. northwest of Columbus and 20mi. east of the Ohio/Indiana border. The population was 1,478 at the 2010 census. The village was founded in 1837 near the former site of a colonial fort of the same name.

Protestantism division within Christianity

Protestantism is the second largest form of Christianity with collectively between 800 million and more than 900 million adherents worldwide or nearly 40% of all Christians. It originated with the 16th century Reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. Ever since, Protestants reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy and sacraments, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They emphasize the priesthood of all believers, justification by faith alone rather than by good works, and the highest authority of the Bible alone in faith and morals. The "five solae" summarise basic theological differences in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.

Structure

The church nave. Saint Nicholas Church (Osgood, Ohio) - view from the loft.jpg
The church nave.

The church rests upon a stone foundation with a basement. Brick walls, trimmed with stone, are laid in a stretcher bond, and the building is covered by an asphalt roof. Its plan is primarily that of a rectangle, but gables on each side have the effect of forming a slight transept. [4]

Foundation (engineering) lowest and supporting layer of a structure

In engineering, a foundation is the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep. Foundation engineering is the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics in the design of foundation elements of structures.

Molding (decorative) class of decorative elements in the ornamentation

Moulding, also known as coving(United Kingdom, Australia), is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster, but may be of plastic or reformed wood. In classical architecture and sculpture, the molding is often carved in marble or other stones.

Brickwork Masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar

Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks—called courses— are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.

The church's dominant feature is its octagonal steeple, located atop a tower at the entrance. Equipped with a belfry and ornamented with corbelling, the tower is topped with a golden cross. Worshippers enter the church through a vestibule and proceed through the base of the tower; until the addition with the vestibule was built in 1970, the church's exterior doors were a part of the tower. [4]

Bell tower a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells

A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell towers, often part of a municipal building, an educational establishment, or a tower built specifically to house a carillon. Church bell towers often incorporate clocks, and secular towers usually do, as a public service.

Corbel piece of masonry jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight

In architecture a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the structure. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger" in the UK. The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or parapet, has been used since Neolithic, or New Stone Age, times. It is common in Medieval architecture and in the Scottish baronial style as well as in the vocabulary of classical architecture, such as the modillions of a Corinthian cornice, Hindu temple architecture and in ancient Chinese architecture.

Vestibule (architecture) anteroom (antechamber) or small foyer leading into a larger space

A vestibule also, known as an arctic entry, is an anteroom (antechamber) or small foyer leading into a larger space, such as a lobby, entrance hall, passage, etc., for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space view, reducing heat loss, providing space for outwear, etc. The term applies to structures in both modern and historical architecture since ancient times. In modern architecture, vestibule typically refers to a small room next to the outer door and connecting it with the interior of the building. In ancient Roman architecture, vestibule referred to a partially enclosed area between the interior of the house and the street.

Rectory

Parishioners erected a brick rectory for their pastor in 1914. Supported by a foundation with a basement and topped with an asphalt hip roof, the two-story house lies adjacent to the church's eastern side. Among its features are a porch that faces the church on the house's western side and a dormer that pierces the house's southern roof. The house is a square, three bays wide on each of its sides. [6]

Hip roof type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls

A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus a hipped roof house has no gables or other vertical sides to the roof.

Storey level part of a building that could be used by people

A storey or story is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people. The plurals are "storeys" and "stories", respectively.

Dormer structural element of a building

A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window is a form of roof window.

Preservation

In 1977, an architectural survey ranked St. Nicholas' Church in good condition, both inside and out; it was noted that there were no significant threats to the building's continued existence. [4] Two years later, the church and its rectory were added together to the National Register of Historic Places for their architectural significance. Twenty-six other church buildings in the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches were listed on the National Register at the same time; two others in Darke County, St. Louis' Church in North Star and Holy Family Church in Frenchtown, were among these churches. [1]

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

St. Louis Catholic Church (North Star, Ohio)

St. Louis' Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in North Star, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the early twentieth century, it is one of the newest churches in a heavily Catholic region of far western Ohio, but it has been recognized as a historic site because of its unique architecture.

North Star, Ohio Village in Ohio, United States

North Star is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 236 at the 2010 census.

Today, St. Nicholas' remains an active parish of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is clustered with St. Louis parish in North Star and St. Remy's Catholic Church in Russia; the entire cluster is a part of the Sidney Deanery. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. DeLorme. Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer. 7th ed. Yarmouth: DeLorme, 2004, 54-55. ISBN   0-89933-281-1.
  3. 1 2 Brown, Mary Ann and Mary Niekamp. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Cross-Tipped Churches Thematic Resources . National Park Service, July 1978. Accessed 2009-11-21.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brown, Mary Ann. Ohio Historic Inventory Nomination: St. Louis Catholic Church. Ohio Historical Society, August 1977.
  5. 1 2 Wilson, Frazer. History of Darke County Ohio: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Vol. 1. Milford: Hobart, 1914, 602/603.
  6. Brown, Mary Ann. Ohio Historic Inventory Nomination: St. Nicholas Rectory. Ohio Historical Society, 1977.
  7. The Futures Project, Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Accessed 2010-03-26.