{"nrhp_refnum":"82003606","name":"Union Church","other_names":["Kipton Community Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"511 Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kipton","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.265744134000045,"lon":-82.30411060999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small brick Gothic-style church at 511 Church Street in Kipton (formerly Binghamton), Lorain County, Ohio, built in 1879 and originally called the Union Church, now the Kipton Community Church.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the last remaining church in Kipton and the largest and best preserved example of Gothic architecture in the township. Its exterior keeps the original structure, windows, stained glass, doors and sandstone foundation and steps. It also reflects a community that united several faiths in one congregation.","narrative":"Built in 1879 on a quiet, tree-lined street in Kipton, this small rural church was first known as the Union Church. It is brick, with buttresses marking the bays, gable and tower, and a foundation of large sandstone blocks cut at a quarry at the edge of town. The original wooden doors and stained glass windows survive, including one above the sanctuary doors bearing the church's first name. Local men built it: John Scott did the stonework, Charles Hardy the brickwork and C. T. Buckley the carpentry. Methodists, Episcopalians and area Baptists joined to build it, and in 1924 the Disciple and Union congregations merged into the Kipton Community Church. The interior was remodeled in 1963 and 1974, and a rear addition was built, but the original exterior remains intact. It is the last church left in Kipton and the township's best preserved Gothic example. A bell cast in Baltimore in 1881 hangs in the tower.","period_of_significance":"1879","architect_builder":"John Scott (stonework), Charles Hardy (brickwork), C. T. Buckley (carpentry); cornerstone cut by George Stetter","architectural_style":"Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a church; exterior described as unaltered, with interior remodeled in 1963 and 1974 and the stained glass windows repaired in 1976.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.773858-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82003606.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003606/06831c627e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003606/06831c627e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TnrSmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Church_Kipton_OH.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TnrSmith</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Church_Kipton_OH.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989771","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Church_(Kipton,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7885511"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/union-church-82003606/"}