Stratford Methodist Episcopal Church

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“The Stratford Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic former church building located near the city of Delaware, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1840s for workers in a company town, it was home to a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church until the community faltered following the company's closure.”
Wikipedia article Stratford Methodist Episcopal Church, CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 49 National Register listings in Delaware County · listed in 1991 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. Jct. of US 23 and OH 315, Delaware, 43015
When was it listed? 1991-10-03
Category. building
Also known as. Historic Mill-Related Resources of Delaware and Liberty Townships MPS
Township. Delaware township
Architectural style. Romanesque Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 91001436 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

29,036 words

The chapter on Delaware City Township in History of Delaware County and Ohio. Containing a Brief History of the State of Ohio ... Biographical Sketches ... Etc, published 1880 names Delaware. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Leander J. Critchfield, the late Reporter of the Supreme Court of Ohio, was for a number of years a member of the Delaware bar. He was a native of Ohio, it is believed, and a gTaduate of the Ohio Wesleyan University at this place, in the year 1849. He became a law student of Judge Finch, and was admitted to the bar soon after, and then became the partner of Mr. Finch in the business of the profession. He was a successful practitioner at the Delaware bar until after his appointment, by the Judges of the Supreme Court of the State, to be their Reporter. His first volume of the reports, entitled "The Ohio State Reports," being the fifth volume of a new series, was published in 1858, commencing with the decisions of the court in the term of December, 1855. He continued to be Reporter of the Court until 1872, when he published the last volume of his reports, being the twenty-first volume of the new series. His duties as Reporter were ably and faithfully performed, and these reports j-emain as an honorable monument to his professional abilities and industry. In the mean time, he continued his practice in the courts at Delaware, as well as in all the courts at Columbus, where he established his residence soon after his appointment as Reporter, of the Supreme Court, and where he still continues the practice of his profession. He, therefore, at the present time, is more a representative of the Columbus bar than that of Delaware.

Passage source: History of Delaware County and Ohio. Containing a Brief History of the State of Ohio ... Biographical Sketches ... Etc, published 1880.

Henry J. Eaton is a member of the Delaware bar, and came of one of the oldest and most respectable families. He soon acquired the confidence of thft citizens as an honest and faithful lawyer, and in his profession gaining reputation ; when he became a partner of Mr. Reid, with whom he continued several years, and then retired from practice for a time, but has returned to it, and holds his position in the entire confidence of his fellowcitizens.

Passage source: History of Delaware County and Ohio. Containing a Brief History of the State of Ohio ... Biographical Sketches ... Etc, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Delaware City Township - 29,036 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 2,742 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,742 specimens collected within 10 miles of Stratford Methodist Episcopal Church between 1850 and 1975: 2,582 Animalia, 92 Plantae, 62 Fungi, 3 Unrecorded, 2 Protozoa, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A S BRADSHAW, A. P. Morgan, A. Spreitzer & K. Borror and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
unnamed	1896	F. L. Stevens	Flint.
Dothidea Fr., 1818	1896	F.L. Stevens
Hypoxylon atropunctatum (Schwein.) Cooke	1896	A. P. Morgan	Preston
Ectopistes migratorius (Linnaeus, 1766)	1850	Kugel, B. (Burt)	near Selma, Ohio, USA
Podiceps auritus (Linnaeus, 1758)	1860	Ricke, A. S.	Carlisle, Ohio, USA
Vernonia maxima Small	1871	Collector unspecified	Scioto
Centronyx henslowii (Audubon, 1829)	1872	not recorded	Licking Reservoir, Ohio, USA
Ophioglossum vulgatum L.	1873	Hussey, J.
Bonasa umbellus (Linnaeus, 1766)	1874	not recorded	Sugar Grove, Ohio, USA
Branta bernicla hrota (O.F.Müller, 1776)	1874	not recorded	Lake Erie, Ohio, USA
Melospiza lincolnii (Audubon, 1834)	1874	Wheaton, J. M. (John Maynard)	Licking Reservoir, Ohio, USA
Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758)	1874	Jasper, T. (Theodore)	Columbus, Scioto R., Ohio, USA

All 2,742 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms near this property

60 of 83 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Delaware, the town this property stands in, in 83 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 52 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 6 flood, 4 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	1 hurt, $5,000	Trees and limbs were downed, at least one falling on a house. Outbuildings were damaged. A 36 year-old man had to be hospitalized after lightning hit the barn he was in as he sat in a metal chair.
July 1996	Lightning	Delaware	$620,000	no account filed
June 2004	Flash Flood	Delaware	$250,000	As much as five inches of rain caused severe flooding in and around Delaware. 154 homes were damaged, many in subdivisions along State Route 257 northwest of Powell. 34 mobile homes in the Shroyers Mobile Home Park just north of Delaware sustained damage when the Olentangy River rose out of its banks, and forced a few evacuations. Numerous roads and bridges were damaged by high water and culvert washouts.
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$100,000	Numerous trees downed. Six homes were damaged when trees fell on them.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$50,000	Numerous trees and power lines were downed throughout Delaware County.
April 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$25,000	A roof was blown off of a structure in Delaware due to thunderstorm winds.
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$25,000	Several large trees were downed due to thunderstorm winds. A dugout collapsed at Delaware Christian sporting fields.
August 2016	Tornado (EF0)	Delaware	$20,000	A weak tornado initially touched down just south of the Buckeye\|Valley Middle School. The damage near the school was limited to\|one tree with a limb down. The track continued north-northeast\|into a residential area. In this residential area several 2 to 4\|inch limbs were snapped and a few shallow-rooted trees were\|uprooted. Roof damage was observed due to a fallen tree on Coover\|Road and a barn had part of the roof cave in on its east side.\|\|The tornado lifted until it crossed US-23 just west of Delaware\|Dam. A small cluster of trees were twisted on the west side of the\|highway.\|\|The next location is Delaware State Park where the tornado was on\|the ground for a few minutes. At Delaware State Park, a few\|partially rotten large limbs were downed and numerous 2 to 3 inch\|limbs were also downed. Also, several shallow rooted trees were\|uprooted. A medium-sized dumpster near the marina was tipped and\|moved about 20 feet. Three boats at the marina sustained minor\|awning damage. A few 2 to 3 inch tree limbs around the marina were\|snapped. Across the river from the marina, a snapped limb marked\|the end of the tornado track.
September 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$20,000	A two to three foot diameter tree was reported down. Several tree limbs fell on cars. Railroad crossing arm guard equipment was damaged. These occurrences were due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$20,000	Roof peeled off a barn and numerous trees downed.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$15,000	Two tractor trailers were blown over and shingles were ripped off of a house due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
September 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$10,000	Several trees and wires were downed in and near the city of Delaware.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$10,000	Trees and power lines were downed due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$10,000	There were numerous reports of downed trees in Delaware County due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
May 2004	Hail	Delaware	$10,000	Trees were also knocked down near the intersection of State Route 37 and Houk Road.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$8,000	Several trees were downed across mainly western portions of Delaware County.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$8,000	A street lamp was blown down. A house sustained siding damage and had roof shingles peeled off in the same neighborhood.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$8,000	Several tents were blown down at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. Trees were also downed.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$6,000	Several trees were downed in Delaware as well as in Concord Township.
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$6,000	Several trees up to twelve inches in diameter were knocked down across the southern and central portions of the county.
August 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Several trees were downed in the city of Delaware, including in Mingo Park.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Trees and power lines were knocked down.
June 2016	Flash Flood	Delaware	$5,000	There were numerous reports in the city of Delaware of roads closed due to high water. The city had high water throughout.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	There were several reports of trees down around Delaware County due to thunderstorm winds.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Tiles were blown off the roof of a building in town.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Numerous trees and powerlines downed.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Trees and power lines downed.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Several trees downed.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Trees were downed.
August 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$5,000	Large hail fell in Delaware and winds were reported at 75 mph in Ashley. Trees were downed in both locations.
July 1994	Hail	Delaware	$5,000	no account filed
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$4,000	A few trees were downed along U.S. 23 in Delaware.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$4,000	Several trees were reported knocked down throughout the county.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$4,000	An awning over a gas station collapsed.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$3,000	Wires were knocked down at multiple locations.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$3,000	Several large trees were knocked down in Mingo Park.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$3,000	Trees were down along Curve Road due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
February 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$3,000	Trees were downed.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$3,000	Twelve to fifteen large tree limbs were downed across the Ohio Wesleyan University campus.
September 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$3,000	A few trees and a power pole were downed.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$2,000	There were multiple reports of trees down from gust front winds.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$2,000	Large tree limbs were downed.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$2,000	Large tree limbs were knocked down.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$2,000	Two trees were downed.
November 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$2,000	Powerlines were knocked down.
November 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$1,000	A tree was downed along River Street.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$1,000	One tree was knocked down.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$1,000	Several five inch diameter trees snapped in half at their trunks.
May 2007	Hail	Delaware	$1,000	no account filed
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$200	A 4 inch diameter tree was downed.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	$100	A two to three inch diameter tree branch broken from tree. Pea size hail also was reported, along with visibilities reduced to less than half a mile.
May 2020	Flood	Delaware	-	Northbound U.S. 42 was closed at Shortcut Road due to high water.
September 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Delaware	-	The wind gust was measured on the EMA weather station at the county courthouse.
July 2019	Flood	Delaware	-	High water was reported on Central Avenue.
July 2019	Flood	Delaware	-	Troy Road was closed south of Smith Park due to high water.
May 2018	Flood	Delaware	-	High water was reported on several streets in the city of Delaware.
November 2017	Flash Flood	Delaware	-	High water was reported over a portion of State Route 521.
November 2017	Flash Flood	Delaware	-	High water was reported throughout the city of Delaware with several roads closed.
November 2017	Flood	Delaware	-	About an inch of water was reported on a few roads in the Delaware area.
May 2016	Hail	Delaware	-	Penny to half dollar size hail fell across the Delaware area.

Every storm recorded in Delaware County

Newspapers printed here

0 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 0 issues, 0 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

Newspaper	Published
Delaware Gazette	1855 to 1886

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

2,306 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Statement of significance

Certifying official has considered the significance of this property in relation to other properties: Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance (enter categories from instructions) Period of Significance Significant Dates Community Planning & Development under Criterion A for significance to the areas of Industry and Community Planning and significant for historical rather than religious reasons. The land on which the church was built was part of a 625 acre farm belonging to Forrest his property which included the mill to Judge Hosea Willlams and Caleb Howard who housing for mill workers and in 1841 the name Stratford was given to the growing mill community. Up to this point religious services for the workers were held in a frame boarding house.
Because no one Protestant group was dominant in the community, the building materials and the labor was provided by the mill workers. The land was donated by Forrest Meeker, the former millowner. By the time construction was finished i.n 1844, the larger number of Methodists in the community dictated the denomination of the new The owners of the paper mill and the mill workers both played an integral part in the Included providing for a worship space, religion being a central aspect of most people's Iives in the 19th century. Lx See continuation sheet Industry 1844-1896 Unknown Significant Person Architect/Builder Cultural Affiliation comparison between historic and modern maps indicate the parsonage has been demolished. Delaware and Liberty Townships; c.
1840-1896, property type F.5.,"Stone Church". church.A stone parsonage was built c.1860 on lot #15 in Stratford for the minister.A remodeled the mill for paper production.The new mill owners proceeded to construct See map A.

Read the complete 2,306-word case file.

The whole case file for this property - 2,306 words, 23 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 91001436, 23 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Crist Tavern Annex--Millworkers Boarding House	under 500 feet	1994
Mill Worker House No. 1	0.2 miles	1991
Mill Worker House No. 3	0.3 miles	1991
Mill Worker House No. 4	0.3 miles	1991
Mill Worker House No. 5	0.3 miles	1991
Limestone Vale	0.6 miles	1978

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 91001436 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Delaware County	All 49 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.