{"nrhp_refnum":"86003494","name":"Monnett Memorial M. E. Chapel","other_names":["Monnett Chapel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"999 OH 98","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bucyrus","county":"Crawford County","state":"OH","lat":40.74026187800007,"lon":-82.99450395599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-12-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story blue limestone Methodist Episcopal chapel with a 1 1/2-story corner belltower, located at 999 S.R. 98 in southern Bucyrus Township, Crawford County, Ohio, with a small cemetery behind it. It was built between 1901 and 1904 to designs by Frank L. Packard.","why_significant":"The chapel is argued to be significant for its architectural merit in rural North Central Ohio, as a small-scale example of Frank L. Packard's church designs with stone construction, a squat belltower and a bellcast roof. It is also tied to the Monnett family, early Methodist Episcopal circuit riders in the area, who built it to help rural congregations compete with larger urban churches.","narrative":"Monnett Memorial Chapel is a rural stone church in southern Bucyrus Township, Crawford County, Ohio, built between 1901 and 1904. Its walls are rockfaced blue limestone with a white limestone watertable, and a squat 1 1/2-story belltower holds the main entrance beneath a pyramidal roof. Tudor-arch stained glass windows, including a Good Shepherd window on the west front, light a sanctuary finished in Georgia pine that seats about three hundred. Architect Frank L. Packard designed it on a reduced scale, calling the style an English Country Motif. The Monnett family, whose ancestors rode circuits for the Methodist Episcopal Church in the area from the 1820s, funded the building through a memorial association. They wanted a substantial image that could help rural congregations compete with prosperous town churches for ministers and members. Most nearby country churches are plain brick or wood, which makes this stone chapel distinctive. It now houses a Baptist congregation.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"R.C. Taylor / Frank L. Packard","architectural_style":"Described as \"English Country Motif\" by architect Frank L. Packard; rustic stone construction with Tudor-arch openings","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Rated in fair condition and described as largely original inside and out; it presently houses a Baptist congregation. The one exterior change noted is a fiberglass shingle roof replacing wood shake, except over the apse.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.021138-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/86003494.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003494/3eb40cf0ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003494/3eb40cf0ed-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monnett_Chapel,_Lighthouse_Baptist_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monnett_Chapel,_Lighthouse_Baptist_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987289","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monnett_Memorial_M._E._Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6901203"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/crawford-county/monnett-memorial-m-e-chapel-86003494/"}