The Church of Our Saviour is a historic Episcopal parish in the village of Mechanicsburg,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. Founded in the 1890s, it is one of the youngest congregations in the village, but its

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

-style

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

that was constructed soon after the parish's creation has been named a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

Organic history

The first settlers in Goshen Township arrived circa 1805,''The History of Champaign County, Ohio''.

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

: Beers, 1881. and Mechanicsburg was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted on 6 August 1814. Organized religion was rare in the earliest years; the first churches were established by circuit-riding preachers from the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

, who founded small religious classes that met in settlers' log cabins. Mechanicsburg's first church was a Methodist congregation organized in 1814, and by the 1880s the village boasted four additional churches:

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

, black Baptist,

African Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

, and Methodist Protestant. Champaign County's first Protestant Episcopal church was the Church of the Epiphany on the eastern side of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

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; it was created in 1847,Middleton, Evan P., ed. ''History of Champaign County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions.'' Vol. 1.

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

: Bowen, 1917. nearly fifty years before a parish was formed in Mechanicsburg. Under the leadership of a five-man executive committee, the Church of Our Saviour was organized in 1892; the parish saw its first church building completed in the following year, although 1894 arrived before the building was dedicated.Ware, Joseph. ''History of Mechanicsburg, Ohio''.

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

: Heer, 1917. The first priest was F.V. Baer, and by the end of the 1890s, the members had bought an additional

lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

and were preparing to build a new

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

upon it. Although the early members remained loyal to their church, it was frequently weakened by deaths and movement away from the community in its early years. Nevertheless, the parish remained active, and its presence was welcomed by Mechanicsburg's other churches; within its first quarter-century of existence, the members formed an active

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

and founded multiple organizations for the female members.

Architecture

Constructed in 1893, dedicated in 1894, and rededicated in 1895, the Church of Our Saviour is a

structure. In its early years, its

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

, brass

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, and windows were deemed its most distinctive elements, all of which prompted a local author to declare that "both the exterior and interior are very attractive" in 1907. Built of brick on a stone

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

and featuring elements of wood and stone, the single-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

church is covered with a

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

roof rising to a central

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

. The windows that attracted the attention of authors in the early twentieth century are

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

; most are ogive windows, but the center of the facade features a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

. A square brick tower with a wooden belfry sits at one corner of the building; additional stained glass windows are placed in the tower, and ornamental wooden carvings adorn the belfry.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

: Somerset, 1999, 113-114. Architecturally, it is not unique; three of Mechanicsburg's five historic church buildings were constructed in the 1890s,Recchie, Nancy. ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Mechanicsburg Multiple Resource Area''.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, December 1984. and four of the five are brick buildings with stained-glass ogive windows.

Recent history

The Church of Our Saviour was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places 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 or "great artistic v ...

in 1985. It was part of a

multiple property submission The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of Historic districts in the United States, districts, sites, buildings, struc ...

of approximately twenty buildings, scattered throughout the village in such a low concentration that a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

designation was not practical. While many of the other buildings were houses, four were the village's other historic churches: the Mechanicsburg Baptist Church, St. Michael's Catholic Church, the Second Baptist Church, and the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

. Like all four of the others, the Church of Our Saviour qualified for inclusion on the Register because of its historically significant architecture. A member parish of the

Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

, the Church of Our Saviour is within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Southern Ohio. It forms a part of the Northwest

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

, along with the Church of the Epiphany and four other parishes. Together with the Church of the Epiphany, it forms the "Northern Miami Valley Episcopal Cluster"; the two parishes share a priest.Staff & Leadership
, Northern Miami Valley Episcopal Cluster, 2012. Accessed 2013-01-29.

References

External links

Diocese of Southern Ohio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Our Saviour (Mechanicsburg, Ohio) 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Churches completed in 1893 Churches in Champaign County, Ohio Episcopal churches in Ohio Gothic Revival church buildings in Ohio Churches in Mechanicsburg, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Champaign County, Ohio Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio 1893 establishments in Ohio