{"nrhp_refnum":"73001532","name":"First Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"221 Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Portsmouth","county":"Scioto County","state":"OH","lat":38.73216149600006,"lon":-83.00096761499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-11-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Greek Revival brick church at 221 Court Street in Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio, built 1849-1851 and measuring about 57 by 99 feet. It was lengthened in 1865 and a Sunday School wing was added in 1910.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a notable example of Greek Revival architecture, remarkable for its size and largely unchanged structure. It was the first church in Portsmouth dedicated for use that is still in use, and its congregation built the city's first church building in 1823. It is also tied to local religious and community work.","narrative":"Built between 1849 and 1851 at 221 Court Street in Portsmouth, Ohio, this two-story Greek Revival brick church measures about 57 by 99 feet. It has a sandstone foundation, sills and lintels, brick pilasters beside tall second-floor windows, a denticulated cornice and an octagonal wooden cupola. A local contractor built it under the supervision of five church members, and it was dedicated on April 6, 1851, making it the first church in the city dedicated for use and still in use. The congregation, organized in 1817, had built Portsmouth's first church in 1823. The building was lengthened by about 16 feet in 1865 and gained a Sunday School wing in 1910. Its solid construction survived floods in 1883, 1884, 1907, 1913 and 1937, and a tornado removed the cupola in 1860. The sanctuary seats more than 500 and keeps its original walnut pews. The interior has seen little major change, apart from an 1892 organ and later modernizations.","period_of_significance":"1849-1851","architect_builder":"Built by a local contractor under the supervision of five church members (no names given)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"In good condition and occupied, used as a church and as the home of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. The congregation was considering a merger that could lead to the building being abandoned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.155494-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001532.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001532/2088db3dbb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001532/2088db3dbb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portsmouth_First_Presbyterian_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portsmouth_First_Presbyterian_Church.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"79001938","name":"Boneyfiddle Commercial Disrict","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/boneyfiddle-commercial-disrict-79001938/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986118","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Church_(Portsmouth,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453622"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/scioto-county/first-presbyterian-church-73001532/"}