Solon, OH. Solon Community Church records, 1897-2022.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains records documenting the history, activities and members of Solon Community Church in Solon, Ohio. The records include council meeting minutes, board meeting minutes, annual reports, financial records, legal records, site plans, membership cards, church registers, vital statistics, service programs, pamphlets, brochures, photographs, photo slides, church histories, and newsletters.
Dates
- 1897-2022
Creator
- Solon Community Church (Solon, Ohio.) (Organization)
Restrictions on Access
Access to this collection is unrestricted and open to the public.
Restrictions on Use
Items in this collection are subject to U.S. Copyright Law. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine the copyright status of collection items and to secure any permissions necessary for their reproduction and publication. Requests for permission to publish material must be discussed with the archivist or librarian.
Historical Note
The Solon Community Church was founded in 1834 in Solon, OH as a “fellowship of Christians in a Congregational manner” by a group of men led by Rev. John Steward. In 1836, a church building was raised and dedicated, and the first minister was called. Due to financial difficulties in the first decade, the church was unable to be self-supporting and in 1840, it was taken under the care of the Cleveland Presbytery and their Home Missions Board. The church became fully Presbyterian in 1871. In 1841, some families within the church separated to found the Disciples of Christ church nearby. In 1853, the church enlarged their meeting house and in 1897, the church building burned to the ground. While the new building was being built, the congregation held services in the schoolhouse and the Disciple church which later burned down in 1899. The new church building broke ground in 1897, laid the cornerstone in September 1897 and was dedicated in January 1898.
In 1922, the Solon Presbyterian church and the Disciple church formed a federation to become the Solon Federated Church with services alternating between the two church buildings until eventually the entirety of services were held in the Presbyterian church. In 1924, a parsonage was built next to the Presbyterian church. Since the church served the entire Protestant community in Solon, the church changed its name to the Solon Community Church in 1948. Shortly after, in 1951, some of the members of the Disciple church decided to reform their own church and refurbished their church building which became the Pioneer Memorial Church in 1953. Also in 1953, Solon Community Church was forced to buy back their building and parsonage from the Cleveland Presbytery after a court trial regarding the question of ownership. In 1955, the church returned to the congregational denomination by joining the Congregational Christian Conference and in 1961, joined the United Church of Christ formed from the merger of the Congregational Christian and Evangelical and Reformed churches.
To keep up with the growth of Solon, the church purchased land in 1957 for a new building and broke ground in 1960 with the cornerstone laid in September 1960, and a dedication in April 1961. In 1962, a parsonage was purchased on Linden Dr. and was later replaced by a parsonage on Copley Ave in 1972. The Copley Ave parsonage was sold in 1983 to the then minister Rev. Mark Thomas. Over the years, various renovations and building improvements occurred, notably in 1975, 1995-1997, 2003 with the new Congregational Life Center which was dedicated in January 2006, and 2007. As the church entered the 2020s, membership declined until the church decided to permanently close in 2022 with the last service held in November 2022.
Extent
8.47 Cubic Feet (9 boxes, 3 flat files)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Solon Community Church was founded in 1834 as a congregational fellowship before joining the Cleveland Presbytery in 1840. The church burned down in 1897 and held services at the schoolhouse and Disciples of Christ church until a new building was dedicated in 1898. The Solon Presbyterian and Disciples churches joined to form the Solon Federated Church in 1922 which changed its name to the Solon Community Church in 1948, and which split apart in 1951. In 1955, the church rejoined the congregational denomination by joining the Congregational Christian Conference and later the United Church of Christ in 1961. To keep up with the growing city, a new church was built in 1960 with various renovations occurring in the following years. Due to declining membership, the Solon Community Church permanently closed in 2022 with the last service held in November of that year. This collection includes records documenting the history, activities, and members of the Solon Community Church through meeting minutes, reports, financial and legal records, member records, newsletters, photographs, church histories, programs, and pamphlets.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into six series, three of which have been further arranged into subseries. Materials have been arranged chronologically by start date within the series and subseries with materials of similar topics grouped together.
Series 1: Church Council records, 1958-2022
Series 2: Church Boards, 1934-2022
Subseries 1: Board of Trustees, 1932-2020
Subseries 2: Board of Benevolence, 1967-2021
Subseries 3: Board of Deacons, 1946-2022
Subseries 4: Women's Fellowship, 1948-1972
Subseries 5: Board of Elders, 1936-2002
Subseries 6: Board of Christian Education, 1962-2019
Subseries 7: Ladies Auxillary, 1959-1978
Subseries 8: Rebecca Circle, 1970-1985
Subseries 9: Naomi Circle, 1956-1979
Subseries 10: Esther Circle, 1953-2000
Subseries 11: King's Men Fellowship, 1957-1962
Subseries 12: Board of Stewards, 1961-1966
Subseries 13: All Boards Meetings, 1988-2016
Series 3: Membership records, 1923-2022
Series 4: Administrative records, 1951-2022
Subseries 1: Annual Reports, 1956-2022
Subseries 2: Renovations, 1957-2007
Series 5: Church history, 1897-2022
Subseries 1: Photographs, 1958-2002
Series 6: "The Light" newsletter, 1953-2017
Acquisition Information
Materials were donated to the Congregational Library & Archives by Solon Community Church in May 2023 and June 2024; 2023-32 and 2024-20.
Processing Information
Processed by Madison Bellew, May 2025, using DACS.
- Church architecture -- Designs and plans.
- Church finance.
- Church membership.
- Church newsletters.
- Church records and registers.
- Church societies.
- Federated churches
- First Presbyterian Church (Solon, Ohio.)
- Solon Community Church (Solon, Ohio.)
- Solon Federated Church (Solon, Ohio.)
- Women -- Religious life.
Creator
- Solon Community Church (Solon, Ohio.) (Organization)
- Solon Federated Church (Solon, Ohio.) (Organization)
- Title
- Solon, OH. Solon Community Church records, 1897-2022
- Author
- Madison Bellew
- Date
- 2025-05-09
- Description rules
- 3
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Congregational Library & Archives Repository