Precious Blood Catholic Church (Chickasaw, Ohio)

Precious Blood Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Chickasaw, Ohio, United States. Erected in 1903 and still an active parish, the church historically owned two buildings constructed in its early years that have been designated as historic sites.Early parish historyChickasaw's first Catholics attended Mass at St. Sebastian's Church, nearly to the northwest. In 1897, the Chickasaw members erected a small church in their village for use as a chapel of ease during the week. Because the villagers typically did not own horses, they found it difficult to reach St. Sebastian's, and sympathy grew for attempting to form their own parish; accordingly, in January 1903, the parishioners from Chickasaw left the church and took their possessions with them. Little more than one week later, St. Sebastian's was destroyed by a fire (now seen as highly suspicious), and parishioners were faced with the decision of rebuilding the church. Ultimately, the parish was split into two parts: the remnant members of St. Sebastian's rebuilt their church, while the chapel in Chickasaw became the parish church for the newly formed Church of the Precious Blood. Fifty-eight families composed the parish's charter membership.The parishioners quickly began to expand their facilities. Before the end of 1903, the chapel had been expanded, and the following year saw the construction of a brick rectory at a cost of about $4,000. Membership grew rapidly; by 1907, the congregation had grown from thirty-eight families to seventy. In 1908, the church decided to erect a parish school, located across the street from its rectory.