{"nrhp_refnum":"06000318","name":"St. Paul's Reformed Church","other_names":["St. Paul's German Reformed Church","St. Paul's Evamgelical and","Reformed Churc","St. Paul's UCC Church","St. Pauls Community"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"9669 Erie Ave., SW","address_restricted":false,"city":"Navarre","county":"Stark County","state":"OH","lat":40.672957960000076,"lon":-81.53883859599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-04-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rural Late Gothic Revival brick church at 9669 Erie Avenue S.W. in the Smoketown crossroads community of Bethlehem Township, near Navarre, Stark County, Ohio, built in 1913 on the site of an 1845 frame church. A church cemetery is a contributing site.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is the most intact and best example of Late Gothic Revival ecclesiastical architecture in rural Stark County. Its art glass lancet windows, buttresses, corner tower and crenelated parapet convey a country Gothic character. Its simple design reflects Reformed traditions, and it keeps a high degree of integrity in its rural setting with its historic cemetery.","narrative":"Set on a small knoll in the crossroads community of Smoketown, in Bethlehem Township near Navarre, this red brick church was completed in 1913 to replace a frame church built on the same site in 1845. Some of the earlier foundation remains. The building has Gothic arched art glass windows, narrow buttresses, a battlemented bell tower at the northeast corner, and an unusual polygonal apse on the west end. Inside, the walls are plain in the German Reformed tradition, with oak pews, a vaulted ceiling and a pressed tin ceiling in the basement. No architect has been identified; the congregation is believed to have built it with a few local workmen. A cemetery with stones dating from 1845 lies beside it. The congregation traces its roots to 1835, and the building is regarded as the best-preserved rural Gothic Revival church in Stark County, retaining its setting and character.","period_of_significance":"1913","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals/Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed under current function as no longer in use; the exterior is described as in excellent condition and the interior as well preserved.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.001273-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/06000318.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000318/bcaf6dbc74-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000318/bcaf6dbc74-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Paul%27s_Reformed_Church_(Navarre,_OH).JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</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:St._Paul%27s_Reformed_Church_(Navarre,_OH).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991360","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Reformed_Church_(Navarre,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591187"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/stark-county/st-pauls-reformed-church-06000318/"}