Sacred Heart Church at 139 3rd St NE, New Philadelphia, OH 44663-3900 US - St. Martin at Bolivar

Very little is known of the fourth Catholic Church of Tuscarawas county, that of St. Martin, at Bolivar. I have already written about the first two churches of that part of the county, St. Peter and the church of the Assumption. It appears that the church in the town of Bolivar had its beginnings in 1856, when the parish of Morges in neighboring Carroll county was given its first resident pastor, who also was to care for the churches of St. Francis, Malvern, and St. Peter, near Bolivar. This arrangement gave a bit more freedom of activity to the pastor of Dover, Father Dieter Martin Winands. On November 4, 1856, title to the former township school in Bolivar was transferred from the Township Board of Education to Archbishop Purcell of Cincinnati. This building was remodeled to serve as a church for the Catholics of the community. It was given the name of St. Martin. Is it likely that the patron of the church was in some way connected with the middle name of the pastor??? The pastors of St. Joseph, Dover, cared for the needs of the people of St. Martin until 1882, when it was replaced by a new structure with a new name. The only exception to this relationship was the single year 1863-1864, when Father Peter Januarius Weisenberger cared for St. Martin along with his duties as pastor of Morges. Early in 1882, Mr. Sophonicus Leist, of Navarre, donated a church bell to the church of St. Martin. The bell was joyfully accepted, but caused immediate dismay, as the church had no bell tower. Father Dues, the pastor, called a meeting of the congregation, at which it was decided to dismantle the brick building, and replace it with a more suitable structure. The new church, of frame construction, with a bell tower, was erected on the same site, at the entrance of the present St. Stephen cemetery. The new St. Stephen church was dedicated by Bishop John Watterson of Columbus on November 4, 1882.

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