St. Charles Seminary and Chapel
The former Seminary in 2010
St. Charles Seminary is located in Ohio
St. Charles Seminary
St. Charles Seminary is located in the United States
St. Charles Seminary
Nearest cityCarthagena, Ohio
Coordinates40°25′57″N 84°33′48″W / 40.43250°N 84.56333°W / 40.43250; -84.56333
Area150 acres (61 ha)
Built1906 (1906)
Architectural styleGothic, Romanesque
MPSCross-Tipped Churches of Ohio TR
NRHP reference No.79002840[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 26, 1979

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]

History

The 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

In 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

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Samuel Powel Emlen Sr".
  3. ^ "Emlen Institute | Solebury Township Historical Society". 7 August 2015.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ a b "History of St. Charles Center". St. Charles, Carthagena, Ohio. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Missionaries of the Precious Blood". St. Charles, Carthagena, Ohio. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
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