{"nrhp_refnum":"79002822","name":"Cassella Catholic Church and Rectory","other_names":["Nativity of the Blessed Virgin","Cappella"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"RT. 119","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cassella","county":"Mercer County","state":"OH","lat":40.40685273200006,"lon":-84.55067006499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-07-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic-style Catholic church (dates given as 1858 and 1888) and its 1904 brick rectory at Cassella, on State Route 119 in Mercer County, Ohio. The parish was formed in 1847.","why_significant":"The church is described as a second-generation Catholic church in the county, built over the brick walls left after an 1888 fire and later faced with cut stone. The rectory, a Transitional/Gothic priest house, was built to house visiting priests. Both are part of a thematic group of Land/Cross-tipped churches.","narrative":"Cassella Catholic Church and its rectory stand along State Route 119 in Mercer County, Ohio. The parish was formed in 1847, and a frame mission chapel was first built across the road. The present church, a one-story Gothic building dated 1858 and 1888, was raised over the four brick walls left after an 1888 fire. Cut stone was applied over the burnt walls by itinerant German artisans around 1915, though some say the surface is stucco. A square tower with a flared cupola rises above an arched tracery window, and a peaked doorway is flanked by columns with white finials. The brick rectory dates to 1904 and combines Transitional and Gothic features, including a palladian-windowed dormer and a two-story octagonal tower. It was built large enough to house visiting priests who came for Forty Hours Devotions. Both buildings are still used for their original purposes. Thirteen boys from the parish became priests.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic (church); Transitional/Gothic (rectory)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Church and rectory both in present use (church and priest house); condition listed as good inside and out. A reviewer's note says the two nearby schools have altered windows and additions and have lost integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.258986-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002822.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002822/dd60ad7711-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002822/dd60ad7711-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nativity_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_Parish_church_from_east.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nativity_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_Parish_church_from_east.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985887","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_Mary_Catholic_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6980142"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mercer-county/cassella-catholic-church-and-rectory-79002822/"}