St. Charles Seminary is a former American Catholic seminary, founded by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1861 in Carthagena, Ohio. The seminary closed in 1969 and is now a retirement center for clergy and lay people. The seminary, chapel, and five other buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]
St. Charles Seminary and Chapel | |
 The former Seminary in 2010 | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Carthagena, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°25′57″N 84°33′48″W / 40.43250°N 84.56333°W |
| Area | 150 acres (61 ha) |
| Built | 1906 |
| Architectural style | Gothic, Romanesque |
| MPS | Cross-Tipped Churches of Ohio TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002840[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 26, 1979 |
History
editThe first buildings on the site of Saint Charles Seminary were the former buildings of the Emlen Institution, a boarding school for African-American and Native American youth funded from a bequest from Samuel Powers Emlen Jr., a Quaker.[2] The institute sold its Ohio property and moved to Solebury in 1857.[3][4]
The Missionaries of the Precious Blood had arrived in Ohio in 1844 to begin serving German-speaking settlers living there. In 1861 they purchased 200 acres of land and the former Emlen Institute to serve as a seminary for the candidates to their religious congregation, which they then placed under the patronage of St. Charles Borromeo.[5]
The current seminary building was constructed over a six-year period in the 1920s. It is a three-story building with a 371-foot frontage, flanked by two 140-foot wings. The chapel was built by the sons of Ohio steepled-church designer Anton De Curtins.[6]
The seminary closed in 1969 as a consequence of declining enrollment. Theology students for the congregation now study at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.[7]
Present day
editIn order to accommodate the retiring priests and Religious Brothers of the congregation, the former seminary was converted into the St. Charles Center, a retirement home for them. As this need peaked in 1980s and 1990s, the center became converted into a senior living center for lay people as well.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Samuel Powel Emlen Sr".
- ^ "Emlen Institute | Solebury Township Historical Society". 7 August 2015.
- ^ "Emlen Institution for the Benefit of Children of African and Indian Descent, 1765-1956". Everford College, Quaker & Special Collections. Haverford College. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ a b "History of St. Charles Center". St. Charles, Carthagena, Ohio. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Mary Ann Brown; Mary Niekamp (July 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: Cross-Tipped Churches Thematic Resource" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Missionaries of the Precious Blood". St. Charles, Carthagena, Ohio. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
