1889

1889. Saint Rose Catholic Church. , The present church building is the second to serve the St. Rose Parish community. By the early. 1880's the first church building (located at what is now 80-84 Elm Street) had become inadequate for the growing St. Rose congregation. In 1885 the pastor of St. Rose, Father Gustave Rieken, organized a building committee.

The renowned German-American architect Adolphus Druiding of Chicago prepared a rendering for a new St. Rose Church done in an elaborate Gothic Revival Style with brick exterior. Druiding's proposed design is found in his book, Church Architecture, printed in 1889. The St. Rose building committee, however, decided that the new church exterior should be made of stone, the first such church in the area. Druiding's design was not accepted.

Church records credit John Burkhart (also spelled "Burkart") of Kenton Ohio, as the designer and builder of the new church. Burkhart was not an architect, but specialized in building with stone and brick.

Ground was broken for the new church in 1889, and the cornerstone was blessed by Bishop Gilmour of Cleveland on September 8, 1889. Stone for the church foundation was hauled by parishioners from the quarry in Lime City. Sandusky blue-stone was used for the exterior walls, while the interior walls were brick, covered with plaster. The main body of the church measures 132 feet in length and 54 feet in width. The cross on the steeple stands 170 feet high. St. Rose Church is in the Victorian Gothic Revival style.

Three bells were cast by the Stuckstede Company of St. Louis and placed in the tower in 1890. They are, from the smallest to the largest, named "Rose," "Mary,” and "Joseph."

The first Mass was celebrated in the new church on May 29, 1892. Bishop Ignatius Horstmann of Cleveland solemnly dedicated the church on May 28, 1893.

The pipe organ in St. Rose Church is a historic, tracker organ built by Garret House of Buffalo, New York in 1873. Originally installed in the first St. Rose church building, the organ was moved to the new church upon its completion. It was extensively refurbished in 1975-76.

The church has received many improvements over the years. The last major refurbishment was completed in 1998, under the leadership of Father John A. Thomas. In 2004 the church was air-conditioned during the pastorate of Father Thomas J. Leyland.

"How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of hosts!" , --Psalm 84:1