{"nrhp_refnum":"79002840","name":"St. Charles Seminary and Chapel","other_names":["St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and Chapel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":".5 mi. S of Carthagena, off OH 127","address_restricted":false,"city":"Carthagena","county":"Mercer County","state":"OH","lat":40.432415145500045,"lon":-84.5659557831408,"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":"A Catholic seminary and chapel complex on a farm about a quarter mile south of Carthagena, Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The chapel dates from 1906 and the main seminary building from 1919-1925.","why_significant":"It was the training center for the Fathers of the Society of the Most Precious Blood from 1860 until 1968. The 1919-1925 High Gothic seminary is described as possibly the most exquisite building in the county, and the 1906 chapel as an excellent example of Romanesque architecture. The surrounding farm, cemetery, grotto and landscaped grounds are treated as integral to the property.","narrative":"Set on a working farm just south of Carthagena in Mercer County, this religious complex centers on a 1906 Romanesque chapel and a large Gothic Revival seminary built between 1919 and 1925. The seminary, designed by Herman Gaul of Chicago, has a facade stretching 371 feet, with a five-story octagonal dome over the entrance. The chapel was built by the DeCurtins Brothers of Carthagena. The site served as the training center for priests of the Society of the Most Precious Blood from 1860 to 1968, and hundreds were ordained here. It grew over time with a convent, power plant, infirmary, print shop and farm buildings, and it includes a cemetery, grotto and stations of the cross from 1901, two ponds and a tree-lined drive. The property occupies the site where an earlier school for free Black students, built in 1836, was acquired by the society. Today the building is used mainly as a retirement home.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Chapel: DeCurtins Brothers of Carthagena; seminary: Herman Gaul of Chicago","architectural_style":"Chapel: Romanesque; seminary: Late Gothic Revival (High Gothic)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and used primarily as a retirement home; the form also lists lack of use as an endangerment.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.232415-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002840.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002840/abc350b23d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002840/abc350b23d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Charles_Borromeo_Seminary_in_the_afternoon.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Charles_Borromeo_Seminary_in_the_afternoon.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985861","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Charles_Seminary","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7587535"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mercer-county/st-charles-seminary-and-chapel-79002840/"}