Old Stone Church (Cleveland, Ohio) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Old Stone Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

The Old Stone Church in 2023
Location	91 Public Square Cleveland, Ohio 44113
Built	1855
Architect	Heard & Porter; Schweinfurth, Charles
Architectural style	Romanesque
NRHP reference No.	73001414
Added to NRHP	February 23, 1973

The Old Stone Church is a very old and important Presbyterian church in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is the oldest building on Public Square. It was also the second church ever built in Cleveland.

History of the Church
- Fires and Rebuilding
The Church Today
Past Leaders (1820–1920)
See also

History of the Church

In June 1819, a Sunday School started meeting where the church is now. On September 19, 1820, fifteen people from Cleveland officially started the church. This was about ten percent of the village's population back then!

The church was officially named The First Presbyterian Society in 1827. In 1834, the first church building was made from gray sandstone. Inside, it had a special gallery that hung from iron rods. This was a new idea for a public building in Cleveland. It also had the city's first pipe organ. Because it was made of stone, people called it "the Stone Church." Later, when other stone churches were built, it became known as the "Old Stone Church."

By 1853, the church building was too small for everyone. So, the old church was taken down. A bigger, new church was built in the same spot. This new church was dedicated on August 12, 1855. It was built in the Romanesque Revival style. It was also made of local sandstone. Architects Charles Heard and Simeon Porter designed it.

Fires and Rebuilding

The Old Stone Church on Public Square around 1910

Just 19 months later, on March 7, 1857, a fire damaged the church. Firefighters used hand-pumped fire engines, but their water could not reach the very tall 250-foot steeple. The steeple fell onto Ontario Street.

Even with the steeple falling, most of the building was still standing. Workers started rebuilding almost right away. The church was ready again on January 17, 1858.

A second fire happened on January 5, 1884. This fire started in a theater next door and spread to the church. Even though the church was built strongly, the inside was completely burned. After this, the church leaders thought about moving to a new location. But important members, like John Hay, convinced them to keep the church in its original spot.

Architect Charles Schweinfurth was chosen to lead the rebuilding of the church. It was finished and dedicated on October 19, 1884. Later, the church added three beautiful Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows. It also got a special triple window by John La Farge that looks out over Public Square. A new Holtkamp Organ Company organ was also installed.

The Church Today

The church before a big restoration project

The Old Stone Church looks almost the same today as it did back then. It is the only church left that was designed by the Heard and Porter architectural firm. The biggest change happened in 1999. A new steeple was added that looked exactly like the first one. This was part of a $2.4 million project to fix up the church.

During this project, the Berea sandstone walls were cleaned. They had turned black from air pollution. The special La Farge window was also carefully preserved. The Old Stone Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. This means it is a very important historic place.