Nomination for St. Aloysius Catholic Church

The nomination, in full

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

OHIO HISTORIC INVENTORY MAR 19 1979 1. No. Merc-3-14 15 2. County Mercer 3. Location of Negatives (002) 4. Present Name(s) St. Aloysius Catholic Church 5. Other Name(s) same 6. Specific Location intersection of St. rt. 274 and St. Rt. 127 on the southeast corner 7. City or Town, If Rural, Township & Vicinity Carthagena 8. Site Plan with North Arrow CHNO2 NO. 274 TEACHER HOUSE CHURCH ST. CHARLES SEMINARY Rt. 127 9. Coordinates Lat. Long. U.T.M. Reference Zone Easting Northing 10. Site Structure Building X Object 11. No. of Stories 2 12. Is it Eligible? No 13. Part of Estab. Yes 14. District Yes No Hist. Dist.? X 15. Name of Established District MULTI-RESOURCE 16. Thematic Category I, N, C, F 17. Date(s) or Period 1875-78, Additions, 1903 18. Style or Design Gothic 19. Architect or Engineer Anton DeCurtins 20.

Contractor or Builder Anton DeCurtins 21. Original Use, if apparent church 22. Present Use church 23. Ownership Public Private X 24. Owner's Name & Address, if known Archbishop Bernardin Cincinnati, Ohio 25. Open to Public? Yes X No 26. Local Contact Person or Organization if ev.James Kelly 925-4531 27. Other Surveys in Which Included none 28. No. of Stories 2 29. Basement? Yes X No 30. Foundation Material rubble stone, Piqua 31. Wall Construction brick 32. Roof Type & Material gable, asphalt 33. No. of Bays Front 3 Side 5 34. Wall Treatment stretcher bond 35. Plan Shape rect/rcle 36. Changes Addition (Explain in #42) Altered X Moved 37. Condition Interior Good Exterior Excellent 38. Preservation Yes X No 39. Endangered? By What? planned interior remodeling 40. Visible from Public Road? Yes X No 41. Distance from and Frontage on Road 20' / 42.

Further Description of important features The church was built by the parish members themselves. In 1902, stained glass windows were installed which were contributed by local families, sacristy to the south was added. The central tower has white frame belfry and steep spire. Inside, the altars are painted white and the pews have divided sections with small pews in front for the children. Second generation. 43. History and Significance In 1835, Augustus Wattles, Conn., opened a school for freed blacks from Cincinnati on the present site of Carthagena. Quakers who ware trustees of Samuel Emlen's estate, N.J., built the Emlen Institute, a school for freed slaves. By 1857, whites had forced Negroes to sell most of the 30,000 acres they owned in this part of the wilderness. St. Aloysius parish (over) 44.

Description of Environment and Outbuildings This parish has always been greatly influenced by its location north of the St. Charles Seminary which trained priests of the Precious Blood Order. West of the church next to Rt. 127 is the old cemetery separate from the parish cemetery w ich is next to the church. (over) 45. Sources of Information SOLEMNITY OF THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF THE DEDICATION OF ST. ALOYSIUS CHURCH, 1876-1926 Siler, James E., CHIPS, "Colorful Background of Carthagena Parish Sealed," Daily Standard, Celina, Ohio, jan, 1951 "History of Mercer County," Mercer County, 1907 46. Prepared by Mary Ann Brown 47. Organization WOBC 48. Date (49. Revision Dates) 1/77 43. was organized in the vacated Institute. In 1860, the Society of the Precious Blood acquired the buildings, but the parish met in the chapel until the sixteen families decided to build their own church in 1875.

Anton DeCurtins, master architect from Switzerland who has built many of the Gothic churches in Mercer County, schools, residences, and rectories, lived in Carthagena in one of the houses he designed which is still standing. Anton died in 1897, but his sons and nephews continued the DeCurtins firm from Lima and Celina until the 1930's. The location of Carthagena is important. Rt. 274 was the main road east-west that linked the farmers of Mercer Co. with the canal in New Bremen. This log pike road opened up transportation routes for the sale of agricultural products. Route 127 north-south is the Anthony Wayne Parkway that connects Cincinnati with Toledo. This trail was important during the Indian campaigns and the establishment of forts in the 1700's. Carthagena was named by Charles Moore and laid out in 1840 in remembrance of the famous Carthage of Africa, a village for colored people.

44. East of the church is the teacher house that was built in the 1890's when the Precious Blood sisters were removed from St. Charles Seminary. The parish schools, one brick and one frame, were ½ mile west of the church and were torn down in 1974. Property Cross-Tipped Churches Thematic Group State Ohio Working Number 3.19.79.591 2nd Control TECHNICAL CONTROL Photos 25 P Maps 1 OK- 7.17.79 HISTORIAN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN see comment sheet Accept Brabham 7.25.79 ARCHEOLOGIST HAER Inventory_____ Review_____ REVIEW UNIT CHIEF Accept Brabham 7.25.79 BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER National Register Write-up 9-27-79 Send-back_____ Entered 2-3-80 Federal Register Entry 10-2-79 Re-submit_____ United States Department of the Interior - Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service St. Aloysius Ch. interior Land of the Cross-Tipped Chs Carthagena, Ohio Mercer Co.

Mike Lamm September, 77 WOBC, Daily Standard Altar MAR 1 9 1979 #15 159/73 Cross-Tipped Churches Thematic Group Doc JUL 26 1979 LAND/CROSS-TIPPED CHURCHES St. Aloysius Church Interior Carthagena, Mercer, Ohio Mike Lamm, 1978 WOBC, No. 17775 MAR 1 9 1979 Thematic Group 17775 DOE JUL 2 6 1979 LAND/CROSS-TIPPED CHURCHES Carthagena Catholic Church Carthagena, Mercer, Ohio Mary Ann Brown, 1977 WOBC, No. 15 MAR 1 9 1979 St. Aloysius Thematic Group # 180/75 doc JUL 2 6 1979 Please refer to the map in the Multiple Property Cover Sheet for this property Multiple Property Cover Sheet Reference Number: _____64000616_____