{"nrhp_refnum":"76001520","name":"All Souls Unitarian-Universalist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"125 Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bellville","county":"Richland County","state":"OH","lat":40.619851511000036,"lon":-82.51230126699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-01-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small Romanesque Revival sandstone church at 125 Church Street in Bellville, Richland County, Ohio, built 1894-1896 for a Universalist congregation to designs by D. L. Briggs of Cleveland.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a carefully detailed, modest-scale example of Romanesque Revival that is simple rather than ornate, which is unusual for Ohio's version of the style. It also reflects the Universalist philosophy of its builders and the congregation's influence on the Bellville community. The form evaluates its significance as local.","narrative":"All Souls Church in Bellville, Ohio, is a small sandstone building about 50 feet square with a corner tower on its northwest side. Built between 1894 and 1896 for a Universalist congregation, it was designed by D. L. Briggs of Cleveland, with J. S. Schumate of Marion as master mason and church member Lewis Garber helping direct construction. The red-grey sandstone came from a member's farm, while the capstones and archstones came from a quarry east of Mansfield. The Romanesque Revival design uses battered walls, rough-faced masonry and round arches, including a triple arched window on the north facade. Inside, the plain lecture room has a round-arched proscenium and colored glass windows bought in Boston, many given as memorials. The church is considered notable because it is carefully detailed yet restrained, which sets it apart from other Romanesque Revival buildings in Ohio. The congregation dates to 1822 and organized at the Bellville site in 1847.","period_of_significance":"1894-1896","architect_builder":"D. L. Briggs (architect, of Cleveland); J. S. Schumate of Marion, Ohio (master mason/builder); Lewis Garber (church member who oversaw erection)","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a church; condition listed as good and unaltered, though the small congregation finds it difficult to maintain the building.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.248746-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/76001520.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991138","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls_Unitarian-Universalist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4729655"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/richland-county/all-souls-unitarian-universalist-church-76001520/"}