St. Patrick's Catholic Church (St. Patrick, Ohio)

St. Patrick's Catholic Church was a Catholic church in northwestern Shelby County, Ohio, United States. Located in the southwestern corner of Van Buren Township, the church sat at the intersection of Hoying and Wright-Puthoff Roads in the unincorporated community of St. Patrick.^[1]

Parish history

St. Patrick parish was organized in 1862 among a primarily

St. Patrick's was significantly different from typical churches in
the region, such as St. Michael's Church in Fort Loramie.^{[3]: 3, 6}

By the 1910s, the old frame building had proved insufficient for the church's needs. Consequently, the parish arranged for the erection of its third and final church, a

In 1977, the church and rectory were recorded by the Ohio Historic Inventory for the purpose of historic preservation; both buildings were ranked in good condition without any significant risks.^[2][6] Two years later, they were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places, along with over thirty other buildings in the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches.^[1] When these churches were listed, it was feared that some rural churches were ultimately endangered by changing demographics;^[3]: 8 while all of the other churches remain active parishes, St. Patrick's has closed. While the parish was listed as being in operation in 1996,^[7] it no longer appears on the website of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,^[8] and the church has been destroyed. A small memorial occupies the site of the church, while the rectory remains in its place.^[9]

References