Omar Chapel

Reed Township, Seneca County, Ohio

The Omar Chapel, constructed about 1842 as a Baptist church, stands in the midst of northeastern Seneca County's gently undulating farm fields. In a county endowed with Greek Revival buildings, it remains the region's greatest example of the style; an effect, perhaps, of its proximity to the Western Reserve.

I.T. Frary, author of Early Homes of Ohio, photographed the chapel in 1924:

Photo by I.T. Frary, 1924, courtesy of Christopher Busta-Peck.

From a different angle. The columns, I think, are not original.

Five-panel door with simple enframement. The flush siding is intended to emulate stone; such treatment is quintessentially Greek Revival.

Quite intact. After viewing the exterior, I expected bolder woodwork.

Adjacent to the chapel.

A Stone Springhouse

Bloom Township, Seneca County, Ohio

The springhouse was a common building type in rural 19th century Ohio. This structure, built over a water source, was used to store perishable goods before the refrigerator gained widespread use.

Note the tapering of the window trim, presumably to admit extra sunlight into the somewhat dark interior. Even auxiliary structures had at least some architectural detailing in the 19th century.

The creek, just visible in the top photo, was once diverted through the basement of the springhouse. Water flowed through an opening where the concrete is now.

The springhouse's roof is supported primarily by tree trunks with intact bark. Like that of a nearby log house, the roof retains its wood shingles. These shingles are attached without sheathing.