{"nrhp_refnum":"79002824","name":"St. Aloysius Catholic Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"OH 274 and OH 127","address_restricted":false,"city":"Carthagena","county":"Mercer County","state":"OH","lat":40.43644389600007,"lon":-84.56987303299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-07-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Aloysius Catholic Church is a brick Gothic-style parish church at the intersection of State Routes 274 and 127 in Carthagena, Mercer County, Ohio, built 1875-78 with additions in 1903. Anton DeCurtins served as architect and builder.","why_significant":"The church is a work of Anton DeCurtins, a Swiss-born master architect who designed many Gothic churches, schools and residences in Mercer County. It was built by sixteen parish families and reflects the area's ties to the nearby St. Charles Seminary. Its location also links it to the history of Carthagena, a settlement tied to a school for freed slaves, and to important regional roads.","narrative":"St. Aloysius Catholic Church is a brick Gothic-style church in Carthagena, Mercer County, Ohio, on the southeast corner where State Routes 274 and 127 meet. Built between 1875 and 1878 and expanded in 1903, it has a rubble stone foundation, a gabled asphalt roof, and a central tower with a white frame belfry and steep spire. Sixteen parish families decided to build it themselves, working from designs by Anton DeCurtins, a Swiss-born architect who designed many Gothic churches, schools and rectories across the county and lived in Carthagena. Stained glass windows installed in 1902 were donated by local families. The parish began in the former Emlen Institute, a school for freed slaves, and has long been shaped by its neighbor, St. Charles Seminary of the Precious Blood order. The site sits on two historic routes: an east-west road to the canal at New Bremen and the north-south Anthony Wayne Parkway. The church remains in use and in good condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Anton DeCurtins (architect and builder)","architectural_style":"Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Church still in use as a church; interior in good condition and exterior in excellent condition; interior remodeling planned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.133688-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002824.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002824/c342e17e37-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002824/c342e17e37-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Aloysius%27_Catholic_Church,_Carthagena.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Aloysius%27_Catholic_Church,_Carthagena.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985867","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Aloysius_Catholic_Church_(Carthagena,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7586779"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mercer-county/st-aloysius-catholic-church-79002824/"}