La Grange Universalist Church (n.d.)
[Restored browned, paper photo.]

La Grange Universalist Church

As with most Universalist Churches of the early to mid-1800s the details are sparse and those that are available are often conflicting. The LaGrange Universalist Church is no different. We have “sometime previous to 1849” and “organized May 18, 1861.” The first date is from Robinson’s The Universalist in Ohio (1923),² which drew upon Ohio Universalist Convention records. The second draws the date from local historical records.

The solution is, “sometime prior to 1849” the Universalists in the area organized themselves as Society under the auspices of the Murray Association. There appears to be no extant record of who these early Universalist were, where they met – probably in homes or schools, or even possibly a shared church. For a reason that we do not know, this Society reorganized on May 18, 1861, again under the auspices of the Murray Association. Perhaps the intent of the reorganization was to facilitate the building of a church.

The church too, is a bit of puzzle: On one hand, Robinson tells us that the Universalist built the church sometime after the original “prior to 1849” organization and that this church was “later leased to the Adventists.” A locally written history tells us the Universalists purchased their church from the Disciples of Christ. That church was built in 1854 as a Disciples Church. That church was purchased jointly with the Congregationalists in 1860, a year before reorganization. While not always a harmonious relationship, it makes sense that they would share a building as the Universalists had their roots in Congregationalism. In 1872 the Universalists bought out the Congregationalist. And in 1885 was given or leased to the Seventh Day Adventist. Adventist records say that the church was purchased by the Adventists.

On May 25, 1954, the Adventists sold the church to Alden Hopkins. They continued to meet in the church for a year. Hopkins then sold the church to Page Heating and Sheet Metal. At some point in the late 50s it is said that the church caught on fire and was demolished,

The first minister after the 1861 reorganization was Rev. H. R. Nye. The Rev. G.S. Abbott, a New York native preached in LaGrange ca. 1867 until sometime into the 70s, after which he retired and moved to Akron.³ By 1878 they were apparently without a settled minister. By the late 1880s the church no longer appears in the Ohio Universalist Convention records.

Church records record the 1861 Organizing: Deacons as Elisha Saxton, David Grott & Clerk, J. J. Brown. The Trustees were, D. T. Parsons, Horace Sanders and J. H. Brown.⁴

1896 map of La Grange showing Universalist Church in red.
By this date, the Seventh Day Adventist Church

Notes:

1. “La Grange Free Church” is the name of the Universalist Church when the Adventist purchased the church, according to their church records.
2. Robinson. p. 151
3. Williams Bros. p. 315
4. Robinson. p. 195
4. Williams Bros. p. 315

Resources & Bibliography:

- History of Lorain County, Ohio. (1879). Williams Brother. P. 308 ff, Excerpt.
- King, Janice Buswell, provided photo and clippings. The background photo has been colorized from the restored black & white photo, which was restored from an old brown-tone photo provided by Janice.
- Lorain County Auditors. “Village of La Grange 1896.” Plat Map.
- Robinson, Elmo Arnold, The Universalists in Ohio (1923). PDF


Posted: 08.05.26
Frank A. Mills
Sheffield Lake, OH

[Church history may be updated and/or corrected as new information comes to light.]

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