{"nrhp_refnum":"79001948","name":"First Methodist Episcopal Church","other_names":["Church of the Savior United Methodist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"120 Cleveland Ave., SW","address_restricted":false,"city":"Canton","county":"Stark County","state":"OH","lat":40.79850725700004,"lon":-81.37631958899993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-04-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A High Victorian Gothic stone church at 120 Cleveland Avenue Southwest in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, designed by Frank O. Weary and dedicated in 1883, with a brick parish hall added at the rear in 1924.","why_significant":"The church is a massive, imposing example of High Victorian Gothic architecture by Akron architect Frank O. Weary. It is also one of the few surviving structures in Canton tied to President William McKinley, who worshipped, taught Sunday School and served as a trustee here, and whose funeral was held in the church in 1901.","narrative":"Rising above Cleveland Avenue Southwest in Canton, this stone church was built to designs by Frank O. Weary of the Akron firm Weary and Kramer. It replaced a Romanesque church of 1862-4 that burned during a service in January 1881. The new building was dedicated in September 1883 and opened debt-free, thanks largely to two generous congregation members. Its tall corner tower, lancet windows, rose window, buttresses and exposed wooden ceiling framing mark it as High Victorian Gothic. A brick parish hall was added at the rear in 1924. The church is also tied to William McKinley, who joined the congregation in 1867, taught and later led the Sunday School, and served as a trustee from 1892 until his death in 1901. His funeral was held here, and four memorial windows given by his widow were installed in 1907. It remains one of the few important McKinley-related structures left in Canton.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Frank O. Weary (of the Akron firm Weary and Kramer)","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition and privately owned by the congregation, which still uses it as a church; the central entrances were closed and the original slate roof replaced with shingles.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.56666-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79001948.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001948/768cf0aeb2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001948/768cf0aeb2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Methodist_Episcopal_Church,_120_Cleveland_Ave.,_SW,_Canton,_OH_7-23-2010_12-59-30_PM.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:First_Methodist_Episcopal_Church,_120_Cleveland_Ave.,_SW,_Canton,_OH_7-23-2010_12-59-30_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991426","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_United_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453299"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/stark-county/first-methodist-episcopal-church-79001948/"}