{"nrhp_refnum":"04000151","name":"New Market Township Community House","other_names":["New market Methodist--Episcopal Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4641 US 62","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsboro","county":"Highland County","state":"OH","lat":39.13749140900006,"lon":-83.66830053699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-03-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, rectangular brick meeting hall at 4641 U.S. 62 in the village of New Market, near Hillsboro, Highland County, Ohio. It was built in 1851 as the New Market Methodist-Episcopal Church and later became the township community house.","why_significant":"The nomination argues for significance under Criterion A because the building has been the center of social and civic life in this rural community since 1923, hosting gatherings and township government. Under Criterion C, it is a relatively intact local example of a plain, gable-roofed vernacular form used for rural churches and meeting halls in mid-19th-century Ohio. It is described as the oldest church-built building extant in New Market.","narrative":"Built in 1851 on a plot bought for fifty dollars, this brick building in New Market, Highland County, began as a Methodist-Episcopal church. It is a simple rectangle, 50 by 40 feet, with a limestone foundation, brick walls laid in common bond, a gabled roof and stained-glass windows. The church closed between 1915 and 1921, and in 1923 the township trustees bought it for $370. Since then it has served as the community's meeting place for social events, school programs, entertainment and voting, and as the trustees' meeting room. Inside are a stage added in the 1920s, a vestibule, and a pocket-door arrangement dividing the rooms. A World War II honor roll listing 62 local men hangs in the foyer. The building was listed for its role in the community's civic and social life from 1851 to 1953 and as a well-preserved example of mid-nineteenth-century vernacular meeting-house architecture. The nomination notes that it has been altered only modestly since 1923.","period_of_significance":"1851-1953","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as the township trustees' meeting place; the form describes deferred maintenance on the roof, trim, doors and windows, and diminished use as a gathering hall.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.624084-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/04000151.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000151/ae0b2ec78f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000151/ae0b2ec78f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Aesopposea","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NMTCH.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Aesopposea</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NMTCH.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989353","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138359478"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/highland-county/new-market-township-community-house-04000151/"}