United Brethren in Christ (Cincinnati, Ohio)

United Brethren in Christ
Front and eastern side of the church
Nearest city Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates 39°3′12″N 84°22′29″W / 39.05333°N 84.37472°WCoordinates: 39°3′12″N 84°22′29″W / 39.05333°N 84.37472°W
Area 0.7 acres (0.28 ha)
Built 1844
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 78002082[1]
Added to NRHP June 13, 1978

The United Brethren in Christ Church, also known as "File Mile Chapel", is a historic church building located southeast of Cincinnati in Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. Built in 1844,[2] it is a stone building with a stone foundation and a slate roof.[3] It was the house of worship for the oldest Church of the United Brethren in Christ congregation in southeastern Hamilton County, which became the mother of other congregations: some of its members later left to found other United Brethren in Christ churches elsewhere in Hamilton County and in the surrounding community.[2]

The church was built by its members using stones quarried from the small creek that flows past the church building. Its floor plan is that of a rectangle, modified by the 1896 addition of a bell tower to the front with an entrance in its base. Among the most distinctive elements of its architecture is a large Gothic window on the front facade. Except for the front, the church is surrounded by its cemetery, which is of a date approximately equal to the church building.[2]

In 1978, the United Brethren in Christ Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] Although both churches and cemeteries must pass hurdles higher than other types of properties to qualify for inclusion on the Register,[4] it qualified both because of its well-preserved architecture and because of its place as a significant component of local history.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 682.
  3. United Brethren in Christ, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2011-07-28.
  4. National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Park Service. Accessed 2011-07-28.