Pisgah Christian Church is a historic

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

house of worship located outside of Ripley in rural Brown County,

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. Constructed in the 1850s for a quarter-century-old congregation, it has been designated 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 ...

. The earliest settlers in the vicinity of Pisgah Ridge arrived during the territorial days, shortly before 1800.''The History of Brown County, Ohio''. Chicago: Beers, 1883. In 1810, the first Church of Christ in Brown County was founded along Eagle Creek, and the group that became Pisgah Christian Church was founded in 1824; it was one of five in the county founded between 1818 and 1826. The founding preacher, Elder Matthew Garner, remained active in the area; he formally organized Pisgah in 1829,Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

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: Somerset, 1999, 72. and he participated in the establishment of another Church of Christ in the nearby village of Ripley in the 1840s. A native of

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, ten-year-old Gardner had moved with his family to present-day Brown County in 1800. He became a Church of Christ preacher in 1812 and was ordained in 1818, and almost immediately began starting churches in southwestern Ohio. At the close of his life, he claimed to have begun twenty-two congregations and estimated that his preaching had seen more than six thousand conversions. Pisgah is a brick building with a

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 ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, a tin roof, and additional elements of wood and stone. An arched main entrance is the only opening in the gable-front facade, while four rectangular windows are placed in 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 ...

side. A small belfry sits atop the roof above the main entrance, while a partial

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

creates the gable. Trees are scattered around the church property.,

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, 2007. Accessed 2010-02-23. The overall structure is typical of

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

buildings of the period, including the slight influence of adapted

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

elements such as the pediment. Pisgah's first building was a log structure on the same property as the present building, and the present building was erected in 1854. Despite the passage of more than a century and a half, it has experienced almost no changes; no other nineteenth-century church in Brown County retains a comparable degree of integrity. Modernizations such as the installation of plumbing and electricity have never been performed at Pisgah, and the immediate environment remains in use as a quiet rural farming area. In 1980, Pisgah Christian Church 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 ...

, qualifying because of its historically significant architecture. It is one of five Union Township locations on the Register, along with the Burgett House and Barn on White Road, the Henry Martin Farm and the Stonehurst (Ripley, Ohio) farmstead on U.S. Route 68, and Red Oak Presbyterian Church on Cemetery Road.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Churches completed in 1854 Buildings and structures in Brown County, Ohio Churches in Ohio Restoration Movement congregations National Register of Historic Places in Brown County, Ohio Vernacular architecture in Ohio