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In 1834, ministers gathered at Providence Church in Berlin Crossroads and organized the Providence Anti-Slavery Baptist Association; believed to be both the first African American Baptist Association in Ohio and among the earliest in the country. The Association’s name boldly reflected its stance: opposition to slavery and a commitment to freedom. Several affiliated churches and their members were known Underground Railroad safe houses and conductors. Providence Association grew to include member churches across Ohio—including Athens, Bidwell, Beaver, Blackfork, Burlington, Gallipolis, Glouster, Ironton, Middleport, Nelsonville, Rutland—as well as congregations in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Michigan.
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On July 21, 1845, eleven Ursuline sisters from Boulogne-sur-Mer and Beaulieu, France, arrived in St. Martin, Brown County, Ohio. A Catholic order of sisters known for providing quality education to young women, the Ursulines were invited by Cincinnati Archbishop John Baptist Purcell (1800-1883) to establish a school in the diocese and granted approximately 400 acres in St. Martin for that purpose. Led by Mother Julia Chatfield (1808-1878), the sisters quickly established their convent, a day school, and, within the year, admitted their first boarders. Originally known as The Saint Ursula Literary Institute, the school operated for the next 136 years. The Ursulines educated local students from their adopted Brown County as well as many who came from across the U.S. and farther abroad to board on campus. (Continued on other side)
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Many early settlers of Morgan County were of Scot-Irish heritage and brought the Presbyterian faith with them. From this group Reverend John Hunt and twelve charter members organized the first congregation in McConnelsville and Malta in 1824 and third oldest congregation in Morgan County. The congregation built a brick church in 1832 at a cost of $2,361. Known for its excellent acoustics and fine music, the building received the first pump organ in the two villages in 1849. In 1916 the church was stuccoed and added a Sunday school and vestibule. The original bell was sold to the steamboat H.D. Munson in 1865, and the present bell came from the Bristol Presbyterian Church. Because of its large seating capacity, the church was also used for civic functions, including an early court trial. Over the years, members have included General Robert McConnell, founder of McConnelsville, Henry Dawes, uncle of Vice-President Charles Dawes, and Frances Dana Gage, early women’s rights leader.
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Cornelius D. Battelle was born July 13, 1807 in Washington County, Ohio. He entered the Methodist Episcopal Church on October 30, 1825 and the Pittsburgh Methodist Conference in 1833. He was assigned pastoral circuit duties in rural eastern Ohio and the small river settlement of “Belle Aire” where he delivered his first sermon in a warehouse during the winter of 1838. He established the first Methodist class of eleven members in 1839 and rallied subscriptions to build the first church in the community. He served the Ohio Conference for 64 years before his death on July 2, 1897.
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The Zoar Garden was the Separatist’s most public manifestation of their faith, its religious symbolism masked by its lush beauty. It provided both residents and visitors with a place to relax and reflect. This “lustgarden,” or pleasure garden and the accompanying greenhouse were mentioned by travelers as early as 1829. Although some vegetables and fruits were grown here, the garden was filled mainly with flowers. [continued on other side]
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The Jain Center of Cincinnati and Dayton was established on April 22, 1979 as a non-profit tax-exempt organization under the laws of the United States and the State of Ohio. The foundation stone of the Jain temple, the first of its kind in Ohio, was laid down on August 21-22, 1994. The temple was dedicated on September 2 – 4, 1995 when more than one thousand people from all over Ohio and many other states participated in holy rituals to install three idols of Jinas (Gods). The Jain Center is a place for the teaching of non-violence, reverence for life, and compassion for all beings. The center was the home of the twelfth biennial convention for the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, which was held on July 3 – 6, 2003. (Continued on the other side)
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Kirtland in the 1830s became an early gathering place and headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had been organized under divine inspiration by Joseph Smith in western New York in 1830. Here the Mormons, as they are known outside the faith, created a religious community and introduced doctrinal concepts, organizational programs, and social practices that have been central to the religion ever since. The Kirtland Temple, dedicated in 1836, was the spiritual center of the faith. Internal dissension and external persecution arose largely from the distinctive features of the religion and weakened the Mormon community in Kirtland. In 1838, the majority of the Mormons here followed Smith westward to Missouri, Illinois, and eventually Utah.
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Established in 1898 as the Russian Orthodox Church of the Dormition, Holy Assumption was founded by Carpatho-Russian immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Constructed in 1905-1906, it is considered to be the oldest Orthodox church building in Ohio. Archbishop Tikhon, head of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America, consecrated the church and celebrated the first Liturgy. Tsar Nicholas II of Russian personally donated the four icons on the iconostas, or icon screen, as well as liturgical items. Both the Tsar and, by then Patriarch, Tikhon were murdered by the Bolsheviks during the 1917 Russian Revolution and were glorified as Saints of the Orthodox Church. Holy Assumption Orthodox Church continues to be a beacon of the Orthodox Faith on the Marblehead peninsula.