Tour highlights the ‘City of Churches’ houses of worship
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STEUBENVILLE -- When you travel along many streets in the city, it’s likely you will come across at least one church.
There are so many houses of worship, in fact, that Steubenville has been called the city of churches, many of which were built more than a century ago.
That led Flora VerStraten-Merrin to put together a tour of eight of those churches for Dec. 11.
“I wanted to do the church tour because the churches are beautiful,” VerStraten-Merrin said. “I haven’t even been inside all of the churches, and I have lived here all of my life. I’ve seen pictures of them, and I know how beautiful they are.
“I thought, what an opportunity to share this historical information,” she continued. “It will show what a vast melting pot we are -- it will start with a Greek church go to the Serbian church and then back and will include many others along the way.”
Helping area residents appreciate history is important to VerStraten-Merrin, who is the president of the Jefferson County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, the nonprofit that was founded 40 years ago. Her organization has teamed up with the Steubenville Cultural Trust to organize the tour.
Registration for the ticketed event, she explained, is limited to 50 people. Thirty will be able to travel on the trust’s trolley bus, while 20 will go between churches in cars. The cost is $20 for a ticket on the trolley and $15 for a ride-along ticket. Registration will begin Nov. 1 and can be made on the genealogical association’s website at jeffcochapter.com. It’s the only place you can register, VerStraten-Merrin explained.
Those interested in participating should make their reservations as early as possible, VerStraten-Merrin said. Once the 50 spots are filled, registration will be shut off.
The tour will start and end in the parking lot of First Westminster Presbyterian Church. After participants meet there at 5:30 p.m., the tour will travel to the first stop, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 300 S. Fourth St. Originally built as Calvary Methodist Church, the Orthodox congregation purchased the building on July 19, 1946. Among its features is its Byzantine dome.
From there, the tour will travel to:
• St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 415 Adams St. The cornerstone of the church was laid on May 13, 1879, and the building was consecrated on April 1, 1880. Among its features is a Tiffany stained glass window that was commissioned by the parents of Emma Glenn Means, who was 6 years old when she died of tuberculosis in 1864.
• First Christian Church, 220 N. Fourth St. Built in 1898, the church is the home of a pipe organ that reports say was installed in 1914 with the support of Andrew Carnegie.
• Holy Resurrection Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church, 530 N. Fourth St. Construction on the building was started in 1947 and was completed in 1948. The church features a restored bell tower housing the original parish bell that was brought from the congregation’s original church in Mingo Junction.
• St. Peter Catholic Church, 425 N. Fourth St. While its grand sanctuary was added in 1907, the church was constructed in 1854. It features altars that have been hand-carved from imported Italian marble.
• Zion United Church of Christ, 139 N. Fifth St. The congregation traces its history to 1861. The church includes a two-manual pipe organ and an oak baptismal.
• The Sycamore Youth Center, 301 N. Fourth St. Built between 1891 and 1892, the building was constructed of native gray stone that was quarried locally by the Floto Brothers. While a Methodist Church for much of its life, it now is the home of the Sycamore Youth Center, which offers free after-school programs, tutoring, musical instruction and youth mentorship.
•First Westminster Presbyterian Church, 235 N. Fourth St. The cornerstone for the structure was laid in 1913. Renowned for its acoustics, the church’s sanctuary has hosted recitals by America’s premiere organists and presentations by other musicians.
In addition to learning about the history of each of the churches, participants will receive refreshments at some stops along the way. As part of the final stop, the Mindful Mug, the coffee shop inside First Westminster, will provide additional refreshments.
She added that she is hopeful they will be able to hear Christmas music planed on one of the pipe organs in the churches that are part of the tour. Every tour participant will receive a booklet containing details about each church that has been produced by Steubenville High School’s Natalie Campana and her students in the STEM Academy and CTE programs.
One of the inspirations for the tour, VerStraten-Merrin explained, was a recent trip she and her husband, Buddy, made to Europe.
“I was in awe of the beautiful cathedrals and churches, particularly in Poland and Austria,” she said. “I kept thinking that it would be nice to share our history of how our melting pot of religions came here and brought their roots with them -- their styles, their architectural beauty and how we benefit from their desires to have the same beauty as what they had in their motherlands.”
“Seeing those churches helped build the desire in my heart to share our churches and our history and the connections we have with our ancestors,” VerStraten-Merrin said.
She said she hopes to expand the tour next year to include more churches, and maybe even turn it into a two-night event. The time of year is perfect, VerStraten-Merrin added. The Steubenville Nutcracker Village and Christmas at Historic Fort Steuben will both be in full swing, she said, which will give a festive feel to the downtown area.
While the tour will begin at 5:30 p.m., it’s not possible to know how long it will take, she added. It will encompass several hours, though, and is not for anyone who is looking for quick experience, she said.
The tour, she explained, will be the final event of the America 250 celebration, and will help keep local history alive.
“We are celebrating the history of Steubenville and the history of Jefferson County,” she said. “You have all of these different denominations, and you have these beautiful historic churches. When you look at them from the outside, you might see some of them are very nice, but when you go inside, you just feel, wow. I just think that knowing you have that history here helps increase the respect for the history of the area you live in.”