{"nrhp_refnum":"82003586","name":"Salem Methodist Church Complex","other_names":["Salem United Methodist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6137 Salem Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cincinnati","county":"Hamilton County","state":"OH","lat":39.07532377800004,"lon":-84.39129037299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rural church complex at 6137 Salem Road in the Cincinnati vicinity (Anderson Township), Hamilton County, Ohio. It includes an Italianate frame church built in 1863, a brick schoolhouse, and a pioneer cemetery with burials from 1819 to the present.","why_significant":"The complex is significant for its aesthetic integrity and for its link to Francis McCormick, founder of Methodism in the Northwest Territory, who is buried in the cemetery. The congregation, founded in 1805, was the second McCormick organized. The shiplap walls and Italianate detailing are described as unique for church design in southwestern Ohio.","narrative":"Salem Methodist Church Complex in Anderson Township, east of Cincinnati, groups a frame church, a brick schoolhouse and a pioneer cemetery on about 2.5 acres. The church, built in 1863, is an Italianate building with shiplap siding, a louvered belfry and bracketed eaves. It is the congregation's third building, following a log cabin of 1810 and a brick chapel of 1828. When the present church went up, the brick chapel was dismantled and rebuilt as a schoolhouse that served local students until 1929; the church bought it in 1949 and now uses it as McCormick Hall, its educational center. The congregation dates to 1805 and was the second organized by Francis McCormick, who formed the first Methodist class in the Northwest Territory and later served in the Ohio State Senate. He is buried in the cemetery, which also holds early settlers and Revolutionary War veterans. The group is valued for its cohesive setting and its continued community service.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use; the church remains active, the schoolhouse serves as the church's educational center, and the cemetery is still used. Condition is rated excellent and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.410458-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82003586.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003586/600de2f897-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003586/600de2f897-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_Community_Church_in_Anderson_Township.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_Community_Church_in_Anderson_Township.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989137","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Methodist_Church_Complex_(Cincinnati,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7404139"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/hamilton-county/salem-methodist-church-complex-82003586/"}