Decorative drawing: a plain country church with a tall steeple. Not a photograph of this place.

Nomination for First Universalist Church of Olmsted

The case file that argued this property on to the National Register: 1,488 words across 10 pages, filed in 1980. Read by 4 independent recognisers, of which at least 3 had to agree before a line was published.

Source document Held by the National Archives in Record Group 79 as reference 80002983, where it exists only as a scan with no text layer. The words below were read off that scan by 4 independent recognisers at two resolutions. Only lines that at least 3 of them returned identically appear below; where they disagreed, the line is withheld rather than guessed, so some of the form's furniture is missing. Spelling is never corrected, so a stray character that all the readers agreed on is the recogniser's and the typewriter's.. Nothing is summarised, corrected or written by this site. See the catalogue record, or return to the property.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service received SEP 2 2 1980 See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections and/or common street & number 5050 Porter Road - not for publication city, town - vicinity of : 23 - Ronald Mottl X state Bath, Ohio - county Present Use - public - unoccupied .agriculture -private _ building(s) _ commercial . work in progress X educational - private residence .entertainment _ religious - in process - yes: restricted -government - scientific - yes: unrestricted _ industrial -transportation - military .other: 4. Owner of Property Ohio-Meadville District Local notice: Olmsted Unitarian Universalist Fellowship courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. has this property been determined elegible?
_ yes OHI - 1977 HABS - 1936 X federal - local HABS, Library of Congress both 039 035 museum Category Cuyahoga date Accessible code Cleveland site 1. Name structure park Ownership Status object historic district Inventory-Nomination Form title 2. Location 5. Location of Legal Description congressional district Unitarian-Universalist Assoc 6. Representation in Existing Surveys 1219 Ontario Historic American Buildings Survey Cuyahoga County Administration Building North Olmsted 3. Classification National Register of Historic Places Public Acquisition being considered Ohio Historic Inventory First Universalist Church of Olmsted FHR8300 (1178) For HCRS use only depository for survey records Olmsted Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship Columbus, Ohio Historical Society PO Box 278 _ excellent _ original site X altered X moved Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

cornice, and a low pyramidal roof. Originally the pediment and the belfry rested on four slender pillars, was added, and Victorian stained glass replaced the original clear However, the belfry was incorrectly drawn (since it was never altered), being shown one-third wider than its correct dimension, and showing including the oldest. At an undetermined date between 1936 and 1955, the entrance was widened to accommodate double doors and to fit an interior vestibule. The new In 1963 the widening of Lorain Road at the original site, plus the increased traffic from the Ohio Turnpike, made it imperative to move the building for preservation. The building was moved 1/4 mile north . unnoticed from the front of the lot. 1963 unexposed 7. Description Condition ruins glass in all of the windows.
fair exterior and interior structure were unaltered, and new pews and Check one pointed window above.The walls have clapboarded siding.On the roof a semi-elliptical fan.There are four rectangular windows on the side _ unaltered This is a rectangular church building of wood frame construction in the a low-pitched gable roof with a finely-detailed facade pediment containing elevations and two on the front. The entrance has double doors with a opening is flanked by fluted pilasters. furnishings were made. At the same time an education wing was added church is still visible within the addition, and the addition is almost there is a square louvered belfry with Tuscan pilasters, a projecting forming a porch. In 1881-1882 the porch was enclosed to increase the In 1936 the church was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
on an adjacent street and placed on a prepared basement foundation. The setting is a lot 100 feet by 564 feet on a residential street. The deteriorated the church by a wood frame and glass passageway. The rear wall of the three louvered bays instead of the two which appear in all photographs The drawings show the porch hypothetically reconstructed by the draftsman. to the rear of the building.It is a modern masonry structure linked to interior space.At that time the center doorway with its Gothic window Areas of Significance - Check and justify below - archeology-historic - law . agriculture _literature - architecture - military X social/ .engineering _ music - philosophy other (specify) 1847; 1882; 1963 Statement of

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) church structure in Cuyahoga County (greater Cleveland), excepting only an important community center as well as a religious structure. The liberal views of the congregation made it possible for the church to have its first woman minister as early as 1878. Architecturally the building is a well-preserved example of the classic Greek Revival period modified with some Victorian features. organized in 1834. Meetings were held in a building used jointly by the Ames was the carpenter-designer and supervisor of the building. The democratic body with a stress on personal responsibility. The building was always used as a community building for meetings, gatherings, and celebrations of all kinds. The bell, installed in the belfry in 1851, has been used as a fire alarm and to toll the death of residents as well as announcing the Sunday worship services.
From 1878 to 1880 and again in Inez Shipman was a second woman minister. period, in Strongsville and Gates Mills (both 1853). (St. John's Episcopal Universalist Church in 1881-1882 its Victorian features were added. workmanship, feeling and association which conveys the period of its architectural and historical significance. 1700-1799 1600-1699 economics communications 1500-1599 1800-1899 commerce education invention humanitarian art transportation industry exploration/settlement Period theater science 1400-1499 prehistoric sculpture 8. Significance church was not legally incorporated until 1872. It is a self-governing, conservation -politics/government addition, the original structure possesses integrity of materials, design, 1900- St. John's Episcopal Church in Cleveland (1838).
Historically it was always Specific dates Olmsted Township was first settled in 1815.The Universalist Society was until 1847,when the Universalists erected the present structure.John Cuyahoga County has two other churches built during the Greek Revival The First Universalist Church of Olmsted is the second oldest surviving community planning Methodists, Presbyterians, Universalists, and the community government In spite of the fact that the church has been moved and has a modern Builder/Architect archeology-prehistoric John Ames 1897Mrs.Abbie Danforth was the from1900 to1903 Church is a Gothic Revival the remodeling of the Walter F. Holzworth, Township 6 Range 15. Quadrangle name - UMT References Verbal boundary description and justification Cuyahoga County, being the lot on which the building stands.
List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries _ state Alice M. Russell, Olmsted Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship street & number city or town The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: Tocal As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89- State Historic Preservation Officer signature I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register 216-721-5722 code county Easting Northing date name/title Zone Cleveland 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References telephone national Attest: March 1980 11. Form Prepared By 10. Geographical Data 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification Cuyahoga County deeds, tax records, maps. Chief of Registration 1:24,000 North Olmsted Keeper of the National Register The property consists of permanent parcel No. 232-9-38, North Olmsted, Acreage of nominated property For HCRS use only 10825 East Boulevard 1.3 acres 8/27/80 Bernice Offenberg, Over the Years in Olmsted (1964), 91-93. 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated Acting SHPo Ohio Eric Johannesen, Preservation Officer Crisfield Johnson, History of Cuyahoga County (1879), 489 ff.
Western Reserve Historical Society organization 5/80 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN CONTROL KEEPER ARCHEOLOGIST Maps HISTORIAN Send-back Re-submit National Register Write-up REVIEW UNIT CHIEF United States Department of the Interior-Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service Federal Register Entry BRANCH CHIEF Photos Entered NOV 25-1980 TECHNICAL 2-2-82 Cuyahoga County, Ohio 1. South and East elevations, 1ooking NW. First Universalist Church of SEP 2 2 1980 Olmsted. North Olmsted Cuyahoga County, Ohio 2. East and North elevations SEP 2 2 1980 1ooking SW. First Universalist Church of Olmsted. North Olmsted NOV 2 5 1980 3. 1963 education wing, looking SEP 2 2 1980 First Universalist Church of Cuyahoga County, Ohio E. Johannesen Olmsted. North Olmsted 1980W.R.H.S.
NORTH OLMSTED QUADRANGLE 4585/160 North 7.5 MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC) 17 422/350 East Church of Olmsted NORTH OLMSTED, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Brendel, Charles, House Wiles, Perry, Grocery Company Honorable Howard M. Metzenbauflso Notified Honorable John H. Glenn, JI. Mr. Dellas H. Harder Columbus, Ohio 43211 Location STATE Cuyahoga County Name Date Entered Honorable Louis Stokes Zanesville Honorable Ronald M. Mottl Honorable Delbert L. Latta Clossman Hardware Store Honorable William H. Harsha The Ohio Historical Society First Universalist Church of Olmsted For further information, please call the National Register at (202)343-6401. Grant School Honorable Tennyson Guyer ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER Acting State Historic Preservation Officer Interstate 7l at 17th Avenue Muskingum County Ohio Power Company North Olmsted Town Hall Honorable Willis D. Gradison, Jr.
Honorable Tony P. Hall Honorable Clarence E. Miller North 0lmsted OHIO Mercer County Wil1shire Bell, C. S., Thematic Resources Location Dayton STATE Cuyahoga County Date Entered Name Otis Hospital Cincinnati Cleveland Van Wert County Celina Wilmington Smith Place Hamilton Coumty Also Notified Montgouery County Ninth Street Historic District Highland County For further information, please call the National Register at (202)343-6401. St.Paul's Episcopal Church ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER Lafee Buildings Clinton County Willshire School NOV 25/980 OHIO