Holy Family Catholic Church is a historic

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in Wayne Township, Darke County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Located in the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of Frenchtown, it houses an active congregation, and it has been accorded

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 re ...

status because of its well-preserved

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Parish history

The first settlers of northeastern Darke County and southwestern Shelby County were predominantly

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

.Brown, Mary Ann. ''Ohio Historic Inventory Nomination: Holy Family Catholic Church''.

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 ...

, February 1977. The first

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the region encompassed the areas now divided between St. Denis Parish in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, St. Remy Parish in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and Holy Family Parish. This parish, originally known as St. Valbert's Church, was organized among these French settlers in 1839, with its church located northeast of

;Fortin, Roger.
Faith and Action: A History of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati 1821-1996
''.

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, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

: Ohio State UP, 2002, 400. it was a mother church of the

Missionaries of the Precious Blood The Missionaries of the Precious Blood () is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. The name "Missionaries of the Precious Blood" is a shortened English translation of the La ...

, who were beginning to minister to the Catholic population of the region at this time.Brown, Mary Ann and Mary Niekamp. '.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, July 1978. Accessed 2010-03-03. In 1846, St. Remy and Holy Family parishes were created as separate parishes, while St. Valbert relocated to Versailles and was rededicated to St. Denis in 1864. Members of Holy Family Church quickly began to organize their congregation, completing a

log Log most often refers to: * Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut ** Logging, cutting down trees for logs ** Firewood, logs used for fuel ** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs * Logarithm, in mathe ...

church by the end of 1846; after it burned in 1848, another log church was built. At the same time, the members of St. Remy's Church were beginning to build a church, and competition began to arise between the two parishes. Ultimately, a wager was agreed upon of two gallons of

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

, to be given to the first parish to lay the log foundation for their churches; Holy Family won the prize.McIntosh, W.H. ''The History of Darke County, Ohio: Containing A History of the County; its Cities, Towns, etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Map of Darke County; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, etc., etc.''

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: W.H. Beers, 1880, 416. As more French settlers continued to arrive in the 1850s and early 1860s, the church became too small, and the members decided to erect a larger brick structure.

Architecture

The present Holy Family Church was completed in 1866 in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. Its

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 roof is topped with a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

; the walls are of brick painted white, and the building rests on a stone

foundation Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

without a basement. Most of the exterior remains little changed from its original format, although the entrance has been hidden by the addition of a small structure in 1964. The interior has been changed more substantially than the exterior; the original elaborate

altars 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 Christian ...

and statues have been removed, and the original

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

and

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

have been replaced by a new baptistery and sacristy in the 1964 addition. Still present is the interior lighting from the original

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s of

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

, each inscribed with the name of the individuals who paid for the window. Architectural historians have divided the Precious Blood-related churches of western Ohio into multiple generations. Only a few buildings remain from the first generation, which consisted primarily of small wooden churches, and only St. John's Church in Fryburg remains essentially unchanged. Replacing these wooden buildings were the churches of the second generation, which were generally small brick buildings without tall spires. Holy Family's simple rectangular plan and small bell tower makes it a fine example of the churches of the second generation.

Related properties

Located on the southwestern corner of Frenchtown's primary intersection, that of Burns Road and State Route 185, the church is partially surrounded by other properties associated with the parish. Members of Holy Family Church first built a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

for their pastor in 1850. It was replaced by a larger brick structure in the 1880s; it lies on the northern side of Burns Road, directly across from the church. A more recent

parish hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church architecture, church, generally for community and Charitable organization, charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the ...

is located on the southern side of the road to the west of the church. A church

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

, small but heavily used, lies immediately to the south and east of the church. Founded before the establishment of the parish, the cemetery includes burials as old as 1842; it is officially known as the "Frenchtown Cemetery," although it has also been known as the "Holy Family Cemetery."

Recent history

A 1977 architectural survey ranked the church's exterior in good condition; its interior was only noted as "modified." In 1979, Holy Family Catholic Church was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Thirty-two other properties, including twenty-five other churches, were listed on the National Register at the same time as part of a

multiple property submission The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

of properties in western Ohio related to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Among these thirty-two other buildings were St. Remy's Church in Russia and two other churches in northeastern Darke County. The tall towers and

of many of these churches has caused this region of western Ohio to be nicknamed the "

Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches The Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches is a rural region in the western part of the U.S. state of Ohio, centered near Maria Stein, Ohio, Maria Stein in Mercer County, Ohio, Mercer County. Its name is derived from the dense concentration of large Cath ...

." Today, Holy Family is an active parish of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is clustered with Immaculate Conception Parish in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, St. Denis Parish in Versailles, and St. Mary Parish in Greenville. The entire cluster is a part of the Sidney

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

.The Futures Project

Archdiocese of Cincinnati The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cincinnati () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church that covers all of the dioceses in the State of Ohio. As of 2025, the archbishop of Cincinnati is Robert Casey. T ...

. Accessed 2010-03-03.

References

{{NRHP in Darke County, Ohio 1846 establishments in Ohio Religious organizations established in 1846 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1866 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches in Darke County, Ohio Churches in the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati French-American culture in Ohio Gothic Revival church buildings in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Darke County, Ohio