St. Patrick Memorial

Address: St. Patrick, Ohio

Parish Founded: 1862 Church Built: 1910

Architect: Architectural Style: Transitional Italianate

History: St. Patrick parish was organized in 1862 among a primarily Irish population. Although the region was settled primarily by German farmers, the members at St. Patrick were generally Irish laborers who had been recruited to participate in the construction of the Miami and Erie Canal through western Shelby County. Starting one year later, the parish was served by priests from the Missionaries of the Precious Blood these priests were based in Minster, nearly five miles to the northwest. The parish built a log church in 1863; it was replaced by a frame church in 1871. Members in the vicinity of McCartyville to the northeast were created a separate parish in 1882, weakening the original parish.

St. Patrick's was significantly different from typical churches in the region, such as St. Michael's Church in Fort Loramie. By the 1910s, the old frame building had proved insufficient for the church's needs. Consequently, the parish arranged for the erection of its third and final church, a Flemish bond brick structure constructed in a transitional Italianate style of architecture. This building was based on a foundation of concrete and a gabled tile roof; the rectangular church featured a square bell tower on its southwestern corner. The interior featured frescoes and a prominent statue of Saint Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland); it was lit by multiple windows of stained glass. St. Patrick's was one of the few churches in the area that lacked the high steeples of the Gothic Revival structures.