St. Francis Catholic Church

St. Francis Catholic Church. In the “Land of Cross-Tipped Churches”. Dedication: 30 September 1906 , Architect: William P. Ginther (1859- 1933), Akron, OH , Contractor: Nicholas A. Ley, Minster, OH , The parish, established in 1856 by German immigrants, was a daughter parish of St. Henry and named in honor of St. Francis of Assisi (1181- 1226). A brick church measuring 38 by 65 feet was soon constructed on land donated by Christopher and Margaretha Schunck. The early pastors, Missionaries of the Precious Blood, traveled to serve the newly formed parish from Himmelgarten Convent near St. Henry and from other neighboring parishes., The church, a High Victorian Gothic Revival structure, measures 54 by 99 feet with a spire rising 110 feet. An extensive transept with large stained glass windows, created by the Artistic Glass Company, Cincinnati, dominates the short nave of the church. Bedford Stone was used on the stone entrance and exterior walls, creating a highly decorative and welcoming effect. A large bell in the tower, named St, Michael, was purchased from the Van Duzen Co., Cincinnati was added to the two existing bells from the old church. Three carved wood altars are from Hackner Company of LaCrosse, WI. The church because of its historic and architectural features was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1979., The public school that stood across, designed by A. DeCurtins, was erected in 1904 and used until 1961. The parish became part of the St. Henry Parish Cluster in 2004., Presented to the St. Francis Parish on the sesquicentennial anniversary of the founding of the parish by descendants of George and Walburga Karch and the Louis and Caroline Bernard families, A.D. 2008 . This historical marker was erected in 2008 by Descendants of George and Walburga Karch and the Louis and Caroline Bernard families. It is Near St. Henry in Mercer County Ohio