The Pleasant Hill United Church of Christ is a historic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the village of Pleasant Hill in the western part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. Built in the early twentieth century, it was the fourth building used as the home of one of the area's oldest congregations, and it 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 ...

. Founded in 1843, Pleasant Hill was originally called "Newton" in honor of Sir Isaac, after whom the surrounding township was also named. By the time it was incorporated in 1866, it had changed its name to "Pleasant Hill"; the establishment of a post office in the community led locals to wonder if their mail would be mis-sent, so a new name was chosen.
The History of Miami 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, 1880, 366. The area's first residents were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

; they organized in 1813 and built their first church building in 1820. A group of

Christian Connexion The Christian Connection was a Christian movement in the United States of America that developed in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, composed of members who withdrew from other Christian denominations. It was influe ...

-affiliated people founded a church two years after the Quakers; it took the name of "Hopewell" following a naming discussion at the original meeting, during which one of the charter members said she "hoped the church might do well". The earliest structure, a log building, was built in 1820 out of town, but it was later removed and replaced by a

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

structure on the same site. It in turn was replaced by a brick building in Pleasant Hill; according to a congregation historian, this change was the result of an 1868 storm that virtually destroyed the old building. This structure served the congregation for slightly more than forty years; following the worship service of 10 April 1910, it was taken down to facilitate the construction of the present building on the same site. During the 20th century, the congregation became a part of the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

, within which it remains. The church is a Gothic Revival structure built with an

Akron Plan The Akron Plan was a scheme for the design of churches and other religious buildings that housed Sunday schools. It was characterized by a set of wedge-shaped classrooms that radiated from the direction of a central superintendent's platform. D ...

interior. It appears to be built of brick, but the structure actually relies on

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 ...

for its

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 walls, with a roof of

ceramic tile A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

and occasional elements of wood. Located on a corner lot, the building features a tower on the corner facing the intersection; worshippers can enter by climbing a small flight of stairs to the base of the tower. Large

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 ...

d sections with fat ogee-arched windows face both streets, with a functional addition to the rear.,

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2007. Accessed 2013-12-20. In late 2002, the Pleasant Hill UCC 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 ...

. One of more than forty such locations in Miami County and the only one in the village of Pleasant Hill, it qualified for listing because of its historically significant architecture.

References

External links

Church website
{{National Register of Historic Places Churches completed in 1911 Churches in Miami County, Ohio Gothic Revival church buildings in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Miami County, Ohio United Church of Christ churches in Ohio