The Old Stone Church is a historic

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, and is the oldest building on

Public Square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

. It is also the second church built within the city limits."First Presbyterian Church (Old Stone)"
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, March 27, 1998. Accessed October 23, 2006.

History

In June 1819, the Union Sunday School began meeting on the site of the current church, and on September 19, 1820, fifteen Clevelanders, some ten percent of the then-village's population, signed a charter officially establishing the congregation. It was formally incorporated in 1827 as The First Presbyterian Society, and in 1834 the first church was built out of gray

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. The interior featured a gallery suspended by iron rods, reportedly a first in a Cleveland public building, as well as the city's first

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

. Because of its building materials, First Presbyterian was called "the Stone Church," and as other stone churches were erected in the area, it became known as the "Old Stone Church.""Old Stone History"
Old Stone Church. Accessed October 23, 2006. By 1853, the congregation had outgrown the original building, so the church was razed, and a larger replacement was built on the same spot. The

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

church, dedicated on August 12, 1855, was also made of local sandstone, and was designed by architects Charles Heard and Simeon Porter.

A series of fires

Nineteen months later, on March 7, 1857, fire struck the church. Water from the hand-pumped

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

s was unable to reach the 250-foot

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

, which came crashing down onto Ontario Street. Despite this, the building remained mostly intact, and reconstruction began almost immediately. The church was rededicated on January 17, 1858. The second fire occurred on January 5, 1884, spreading to the church from the adjoining Wick Building's Park Theater. Despite the sturdy construction of the building, the interior was gutted. Afterward, the congregation considered a move to E. 55th Street and Euclid Avenue, but it was eventually decided to keep the original location, after pressure from influential members including

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary for Abraha ...

. Architect Charles Schweinfurth was hired to head the reconstruction of the church, which was dedicated on October 19, 1884. Subsequent additions to the church include three

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...

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 ...

windows, a

John La Farge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...

triple window overlooking Public Square, and a Holtkamp Organ Company organ.

Present day

The Old Stone Church has stood virtually unchanged to this day, and is the last remaining church designed by the Heard and Porter architectural firm. The only major modification was the 1999 addition of a steeple that replicated the original, part of a $2.4 million renovation project, which also included cleaning the Berea sandstone (which had turned black from

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

) and conservation of the La Farge window. The Old Stone Church was added to 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 ...

in 1973. Emporis. Accessed October 25, 2006.

Clergy (1820–1920)

Samuel C. Aiken (page 115 crop).jpg, Samuel Clark Aiken, 1835-1861 William H. Goodrich (page 161 crop).jpg, William Henry Goodrich, 1858-1874 Hiram C. Haydn (page 269 crop).jpg, Hiram Collins Haydn, 1872-1880; 1884-1902 Arthur Mitchell 1835-1893 (page 239 crop).jpg, Arthur Mitchell, 1880-1884 Andrew Barclay Meldrum (page 383 crop).jpg, Andrew Barclay Meldrum

References

External links

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Ohio and Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
{{authority control Churches in Downtown Cleveland Romanesque Revival church buildings in Ohio Presbyterian churches in Ohio Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Religious organizations established in 1820 Churches completed in 1855 19th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States Sandstone churches in the United States Stone churches in Ohio 1820 establishments in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio History of Cleveland