First United Methodist Church

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. 7 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1907.

From the record

“First United Methodist Church is a historic congregation of the United Methodist Church in downtown London, Ohio, United States. Founded in London's earliest years, the congregation worships in a historic church building that was built in the 1890s.”
Wikipedia article First United Methodist Church (London, Ohio), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 9 National Register listings published here for Madison County · listed in 1996 · category: Building.

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

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 2 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
Address. 52 N. Main St., London, 43140
When was it listed? 1996-08-22
Category. building
City. London city
Architectural style. Gothic Revival
National Register reference number. 96000930 - 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.

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of First United Methodist Church: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	West Jefferson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Madison County

Storms near this property

55 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names London, the town this property stands in, in 55 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 33 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 4 flood, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
February 2024	Tornado (EF1)	London	$250,000	The tornado developed near State Route 665, east of London, and moved to the east-northeast. The tornado initially caused minor tree and structural damage, including a tipped over trailer. It then strengthened as it crossed Spring Valley Road and then across Glade Run Road, where it peaked in intensity as it crossed Wilson Road. At this location, a home lost part of its roof and tree damage was considerable, with snapped\|off trunks. Damage in this area was consistent with wind speeds of around 110 mph.\|\|The tornado continued across West Jefferson-Klousville Road and then onward to Olmstead Road. Additional damage meeting the EF1 category was found along Roberts Road, just southeast of Plain City Georgesville Road. The tornado then entered Franklin County at 0525EST, about 1.5 miles east-southeast of West Jefferson. It continued east-northeast for about 3 more miles before ending just before reaching Alton Hall Elementary School at 0528EST.
May 2001	Lightning	London	$220,000	A barn fire in Oak Run Township was started by a lightning strike. The barn was destroyed.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	South London	$50,000	A barn was destroyed and the roof removed from another. Several homes reported roof damage.
February 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$25,000	A few barns were damaged and numerous tree limbs were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$22,000	Two barns were knocked down and wires were reported down near Highway 40. Trees were also reported down in the area. These occurrences were due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$20,000	Numerous trees were downed throughout Madison County.
November 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$20,000	Numerous trees and power lines were downed throughout the county.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$20,000	There was damage to a barn and a roof removed from a garage due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
April 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$10,000	Barn damage was observed on State Route 56 southeast of London.
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$10,000	Numerous trees downed with a few falling on homes and a barn.
June 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$10,000	no account filed
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$5,000	Several trees and power poles were downed near Choctaw Lake.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$5,000	Trees downed.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$5,000	Trees were downed just north of town.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$5,000	Trees were downed.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$4,000	Trees and powerlines were knocked down.
October 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$4,000	Numerous trees were knocked down.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Multiple trees were downed.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Several trees were knocked down.
March 2007	Flood	London	$3,000	Several roads were flooded across the county.
March 2007	Flood	London	$3,000	Several roads were flooded and closed. A few creeks rose out of their banks across the county.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Large tree limbs were downed across a few roads. Power poles were also knocked down.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Several trees and large limbs were downed.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Trees were downed.
April 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	A few trees were downed.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Trees were knocked down at the intersection of US 42 and Spring Valley Road, and throughout the central part of the county.
October 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Several trees were downed across town.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$3,000	Measured gust to 63 mph. Several trees down.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$2,000	Two trees were knocked down.
May 2002	Hail	London	$2,000	no account filed
August 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$1,000	A tree was knocked down.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$1,000	Large limbs were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	London	$1,000	Large limbs were blown down.
October 2025	Flood	London	-	High water was reported along several roads in London.
February 2022	Flood	London	-	Numerous roads were closed throughout the county due to high water.
January 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	London	-	Several large limbs were downed.
January 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	London	-	Several large limbs were downed.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	London	-	The spotter estimated the wind gust.
May 2001	Flash Flood	London	-	High water on roadways. Water overflowing storm sewers in the city of London.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	London	-	Winds measured to 58 miles an hour.
April 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	London	-	Wind gust to 65 mph reported by the sheriff.
July 2012	Hail	London	-	no account filed
April 2011	Hail	London	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	London	-	no account filed
April 2010	Hail	London	-	no account filed
September 2005	Hail	London	-	no account filed
March 2003	Hail	London	-	no account filed
March 2003	Hail	London	-	no account filed
April 2001	Hail	London	-	no account filed
April 2001	Hail	London	-	no account filed
April 2001	Hail	London	-	no account filed
May 2001	Hail	London	-	no account filed
May 1998	Hail	London	-	no account filed
September 1998	Hail	London	-	no account filed
April 1995	Hail	London	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Madison County

Newspapers printed here

1 paper

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read. 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
The Semi-Weekly Madison County Democrat	1923 to 19??

Maps showing this location

7 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

1907 USGS London quadrangle1:62500 - 2 printings
1947 USGS Columbus quadrangle1:250000
1961 USGS Columbus quadrangle1:250000
1961 USGS London quadrangle1:24000 - 5 printings
1962 USGS Columbus quadrangle1:250000
1967 USGS Columbus quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1986 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings

From the nomination file

7,837 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

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) - A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. Xx C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type,period,or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. - D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: *X A owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes. - B removed from its original location. - C a birthplace or grave. D a cemetery. J E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. - F a commemorative property. G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Madison/Ohio County and State -Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) Architecture Period of Significance 1893-1946 Significant Dates 1894 1915-Parsonage built Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder Crapsey & Brown, Architect A.A.
Fletcher & Co., Builder Parsonage architect unknown See continuation sheets, pages 1-2 Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 9.

The whole case file for this property - 7,837 words, 80 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 96000930, 80 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

5 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
Madison County Courthouse	under 500 feet	1973
London Commercial Business Historic District	0.2 miles	1985
Swetland House	0.3 miles	1983
Red Brick Tavern	4.2 miles	1975
Valentine Wilson House	4.9 miles	1973

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 96000930 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Madison County	All 9 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.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
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.