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

Activity in the name of the Catholic Church began in New Philadelphia in 1891, when Fr. Anastasius Mueller, O.M.Cap. began to come from St. Joseph church in Dover, where he was pastor, to instruct the young of the city. For the first year, classes were held in rented quarters at the corner of the public square. The next year the move was made to a larger room above Urfer’s Store at 127-129 East High Avenue. On June 3, 1893, the first attempt at a more permanent church community was made with the purchase of a lot as a potential building site. For the price of $900 the lot was transferred to the name of Bishop Watterson of Columbus. Lot 56 in the Hugus Addition to the town of New Philadelphia was located at the northwest corner of Front and West Streets. West Street was later designated Seventh Street, and later still as Fourth Street, S.W. The house currently on this small lot is identified as 403 Front Ave., S.W. This lot was sold after the purchase of the present church lots. The German Reformed Church at the corner of Second (now Third) Street and Fair Avenue was offered for sale in 1894. The church and the northern quarter of four lots facing on Fair Ave. were purchased by the Catholic congregation for $3000, with the property deeded to Bishop Watterson April 11, 1895. The building was remodeled for use as a Catholic church, dedicated by Bishop Watterson June 9, 1895, the recognized date of the foundation of Sacred Heart parish. Three and a half acres of land adjacent to the Schoenbrunn State Park were purchased September 16, 1907, to be used as Calvary Cemetery. Four more acres adjoining this land to the north were added in 1927. The first parish school opened in September of 1908, in two rooms of the pastor’s residence. The Sisters of Divine Providence staffed the school from the beginning, coming each day from the convent in Dover. The first school building proper, the north half of the present school, opened in September of 1910. In 1922, the parish purchased additional land, to round out the quarter city block from Third Street to Third Drive, and from Ashwood Lane to Fair Avenue, N.E. This same year the original rectory was remodeled and converted into a convent for the sisters who staffed the school. A small bungalow was built for use as rectory for the Capuchin friars. (This building was subsequently sold, and moved across Ashwood Lane from the present rectory, where it still serves as a private residence). Beginning in 1925, the parish files contain copies of lengthy correspondence between the Capuchin Provincial in Herman, Pa., Fathers Alexius, Ignatius, and William, successively pastors of Sacred Heart, and Bishop Hartley in Columbus. The Capuchins in Ohio and Pennsylvania were hoping to build a new church for the parish, to be located on the corner of Third and Fair, with a much larger seating capacity, and with a full basement. The Bishop was determined that the church should be built in the center of the block, of the present size, and with no basement. As the correspondence came to its close, Father Henry, the provincial, wrote to Fr. William, the pastor: “I think it will be best to omit the basement under the new church and use the old building after moving it to the other corner. I hardly know what to advise in regard to the placing of the church; it seems the Bishop has made up his mind long ago and sticks to it. Yet I suppose it will not hurt to make one final effort; but don’t urge the cause too much if you see that the old gentleman is determined.” In March of 1927, final approval for construction was received from Pittsburgh and from Columbus, followed by groundbreaking on June 10. The cornerstone was laid August 28, 1927, with the final dedication by Bishop Hartley on July 15, 1928. Total cost of the construction, including furnishings, was $96,108. For some years, Sacred Heart parish had allowed free use of the newer cemetery land by the City of New Philadelphia for airport purposes. As the need came for use of the land as cemetery, the city, in 1936, gave up all claim to the use of the land, and promised removal of the fences across the cemetery property upon request of the parish. The interior of the church was frescoed for the first time, and stained glass windows installed during the pastorate of Father Pius (1941-1945). In 1951, at the end of much discussion between the Bishops of Columbus and the Capuchin Provincials, the Capuchin friars withdrew from Sacred Heart parish in New Philadelphia and St. Paul parish in Westerville, Ohio, giving care of both parishes to the priests of the Diocese of Columbus. After the arrival of Father Ambrose Freund, the first diocesan priest pastor, construction came quickly at the parish. The present rectory and the second half of the parish school was built in 1952 and the present parish hall to follow in 1962. In preparation for the parish centennial, a fund drive was started to allow the renovation of Sacred Heart church. Work began in 1992, and the renovated church was placed back in use Christmas Eve, 1993. Total cost of the project was over $568,000 – a major difference from the total cost of the original construction. The renovated church was rededicated by Bishop Griffin of Columbus on January 15, 1994. Realizing the need for future expansion of the parish grounds, a part of a lot across Third Drive from the parish was purchased in 1992, and another part of the same lot in 1994. This land is currently occupied by the modular unit housing auxiliary services for Sacred Heart School, and is used for additional parking space.

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