Tallmadge Town Square Historic District

Tallmadge's central green in Summit County, Ohio, is an oval Public Square laid out around 1807 by the Reverend David Bacon as the hub of a township plan. Eight roads run to it like spokes of a wheel, so that every road would lead to the meeting house. The square once covered about 7.5 acres, but highway incursions reduced it to roughly 3. Two buildings stand on it. The First Congregational Church, designed by Lemuel Porter and completed in 1825, is a white clapboard Connecticut-type Federal building with a four-column portico and a 100-foot steeple. The Town Hall and academy, built in 1859, is a two-story Greek Revival structure with pilasters and pediments. The district was listed as a leading Western Reserve example of New England architecture and governance carried to Ohio, reflecting the close relationship of church, state and education among the Congregationalist settlers. Both buildings had recently ceased their original uses when nominated and were in need of repair.