{"nrhp_refnum":"78002001","name":"Congregational Church Of Austinburg","other_names":["The First United Church of Christ, Austinburg"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"OH 307","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austinburg","county":"Ashtabula County","state":"OH","lat":41.77134374500008,"lon":-80.85615596599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Gothic revival church building on Route 307 near Route 45 in Austinburg, Ashtabula County, Ohio, built in 1877 to a design by its pastor, Rev. John K. Nutting. It is the third building of the congregation.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an excellent, well-preserved example of mid-nineteenth century Gothic revival design. It is the third building of the oldest church in the Connecticut Western Reserve of Ohio. Its stained glass, designed by Betsy Cowles, and its place in community and regional history add to its importance.","narrative":"Built in 1877, this brick Gothic revival church in Austinburg, Ohio, serves the oldest congregation in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The congregation formed in 1801, worshipped in a log structure from 1810 and a frame church from 1824, and moved into the present building, its third, after Rev. John K. Nutting became pastor in 1874 and designed it. The church cost $17,000 and was dedicated on September 27, 1877. A square buttressed entrance tower with a broach spire stands at the northeast corner, and a smaller tower with an open-tracery lantern sits at the northwest. Lancet windows, engaged buttresses and corbel tables mark the exterior. Inside, the original Victorian art glass survives, much of it designed by educator and abolitionist Betsy Cowles, and the restored tracker-action organ remains in place. A 1932 annex connects by a discreet link. The building is valued for its post-Civil War Gothic character and its role in Western Reserve history.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"John K. Nutting","architectural_style":"Gothic revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use; the basic structure and sanctuary are largely unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.676766-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002001.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002001/e4736c4d73-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002001/e4736c4d73-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congregational_Church_of_Austinburg.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congregational_Church_of_Austinburg.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986659","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregational_Church_Of_Austinburg","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5160719"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/ashtabula-county/congregational-church-of-austinburg-78002001/"}