{"nrhp_refnum":"79002817","name":"Holy Family Catholic Church","other_names":["Frenchtown Catholic Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"OH 185","address_restricted":false,"city":"Frenchtown","county":"Darke County","state":"OH","lat":40.24620475900008,"lon":-84.52367405899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-07-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Holy Family Catholic Church is a Gothic-style brick church built in 1866 on State Route 185 in Frenchtown, Darke County, Ohio. It is part of a thematic group of cross-tipped churches.","why_significant":"The inventory describes it as representative of the early, modest brick Catholic churches built in this area. It reflects the French-speaking settlement of Frenchtown, where a parish grew from log churches of the 1840s as the canal and railroads brought more French families.","narrative":"Holy Family Catholic Church is a brick church built in 1866 along State Route 185 in Frenchtown, Darke County, Ohio. It has a rectangular plan, a gable roof, a stone foundation and walls painted white. Gothic windows hold stained glass inscribed with donors' names in French. A small bell tower has open arches and a bellcast roof with four pointed gables. An entranceway added in 1964 now covers the original facade and houses the baptistry, and the sacristies were enlarged at that time. The parish traces back to the early 1840s, when a priest worked among French-speaking settlers. A log church was built in 1846, burned in 1848, and was replaced by another. Canal and railroad development brought more French families, and the present brick church followed. At one time the Frenchtown parish also included the parishes of Versailles, St. Remy and St. Valbert. The church represents the modest brick Catholic churches of the area and is part of a group of cross-tipped churches.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as a church; exterior in good condition, interior modified. An entranceway added in 1964 blocks the original facade.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.749261-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002817.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002817/4a17cab1ec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002817/4a17cab1ec-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_Family_Church,_Frenchtown.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_Family_Church,_Frenchtown.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71984718","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Family_Catholic_Church_(Frenchtown,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5885420"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/darke-county/holy-family-catholic-church-79002817/"}