Sixty years ago on August 27 the St. Nicholas Catholic Church members dedicated their new house of worship at the head of Main Street.  As the needs and strength of the parish increased, the congregation built a parochial school in 1927, constructed a convent in 1955 and completed a new rectory in 1957.  The church as been redecorated and modernized several times in the 60 year period.  Catholic history in Zanesville began at “The Green Tree” tavern on the present Kresge site at Fifth and Main streets.  Rev. Father Nicholas D. Young, O.P., stopped there in 1819 on his way to St. Joseph’s in Perry County.  The 18 Catholics in Zanesville assembled, and he said the first mass in the city.  In 1825 the little congregation started regular services in a brick warehouse on the site of the Y-City Office Supply Co., on south Fifth Street.  The first church on the St. Thomas site on North Fifth Street was dedicated in 1827.  German immigration to Ohio increased rapidly in the next 15 years.  By 1840 the Germans comprised 23 per cent of the population of Cincinnati.  Zanesville had its share.  These new citizens could not understand English services.  The “Catholic Telegraph” reported in 1836 that Bishop Purcell and Rev. Joseph Stahlschmidt visited the Zanesville parish.  They preached in English, and Rev. Stahlschmidt also conducted the first known Catholic service in German in this city.  It is not surprising that the German-speaking Catholics formed a separate parish and built a church on the hill at the head of Main Street in 1842.  It was dedicated to St. Nicholas by Bishop Purcell.  The loss of the German members undoubtedly weakened the St. Thomas parish, but the members started the present stone building on North Fifth Street in 1842 and dedicated it in 1851.
 
The first St. Nicholas Church as 45 by 60 feet in size.  The original trustees were Frank Rink, John Gerspach, John Hoff and William Koss.  On December 26, 1842, Rev. Joseph Gallinger arrived to become first resident pastor of the parish.  He donated the cemetery on the Wheeling Road.   The congregation grew rapidly in the next two decades.  In 1861 during the pastorate of Father A. Heckinger, a 36-foot extension was built to make the church 96 feet long.  After the Civil War the city was spreading across the Muskingum River to the Terrace and eastward over the hill at the head of Main Street.  The Zanesville High School grounds on the present Pioneer Hill extended northward to the St. Nicholas property.  For 20 years council discussed the extension of Main Street eastward from Ninth Street.  In 1869 council finally laid out East Main Street and excavated enough of the hill to make an easier grade.  Councilman John Gormley, Main Street grocer, advocated the project in council.  When the work was completed, Gormley said in council meeting, “Now I can see the sun rise.”  People jokingly called the excavation “Gormley’s hole in the sky.”  The opening of the street made St. Nicholas more accessible and encouraged expansion eastward.  During the pastorate of Father Mangus Eppink a six-room convent and a five-room school were built of brick east of the church.  Bishop Rosecrans consecrated the school on September 18, 1870.  Three benevolent societies from Columbus and one from Newark arrived on a special train of 12 cars as guests of the German and St. Patrick’s benevolent societies of Zanesville.  Father Eppink also built the pastoral residence.

The Church was reached by climbing to the top of the hill on Silliman street east of Main street before 1885.  In that year the congregation bought the lot in front of the church.  The lot was terraced, and 40 stone steps were constructed from the street to the church.  The Golden Jubilee of the St. Nicholas Church was celebrated with impressive ceremonies on December 6,1892.  Father A. L. Leininger became pastor of St, Nicholas on December 6, 1893.  Under his leadership the present church was completed 60 years ago.  By that time the streets had been graded and sidewalks had been built.  The congregation met on January 16,1897, and decided to grade the church lots.  Sixty men and several teams reported next day to do the work.  Many worked without pay.

 In 1898 another meeting was called to consider ways for building a new church.  The Signal said on January 18, 1898: “After High Mass on Sunday morning, the congregation of the St. Nicholas Catholic Church held a special meeting to take action with regard to the erection of their proposed new church.  It was unanimously decided that work shall be begun as soon as the weather will permit and pushed as rapidly as possible.  Father Leininger was chosen to oversee the work and a committee consisting of Messrs. Joseph Fix, Stephen Day, Christ Hoffer, A.P. Rogge and J.N. Steiner chosen to assist him.”  The new building was designed by W. H. Dunn of Cleveland in the Romanesque style, similar to St. Peter’s of Rome.  It is an 80 by 110 foot structure of mottled brick with terra cotta trimmings and a large dome.  The entire hill was blasted and dug away to make room for the present church.  It is said that the blasting caused Father Leininger to lose his hearing.  For the rest of his life a sister in the sacristy signaled when he should start singing.
 
 A large semicircular panel over the front entrance represents the landing of Columbus.  This panel of inlaid mosaic was one of the first projects of the Mosaic Tile Company.  The central dome of the interior is 72 feet from the floor.   The floors of the vestibules and sanctuary are tiled.  Out of the solid rock in the basement of the building flows a cool spring around which a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes has been built.  The Rt. Rev. John A. Watterson, bishop of Columbus, laid the cornerstone on Sunday, July 10, 1898.  In December he blessed a large bell, weighing 2,600 pounds, the gift of Rev. Leininger.  It was christened St. Anthony.  It was made by the Buckeye Bell Company of Cincinnati and had the tone of D sharp.  The stained glass windows were donated by the societies of the congregation and were made by Frank Shilffarth of the Artistic Glass Painting Company of Cincinnati.  The long-anticipated day of dedication came on August 27, 1899.  At 10:30 a.m. the exterior walls were consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Leo Haid, Bishop of North Carolina, while the Knights of St. George circled the building to keep back the crowds of local people
and visitors.   After the consecration of the interior walls, the massive doors were opened to the public.
 
 Father Leininger then celebrated the first mass in the new church.  Bishop Haid spoke on “The Beauty and Magnificence of Our New Church.”  He complimented Father Leininger and the congregation for the efforts.  After the Mass the Very Rev. F.X. Specht. Adm. Of Columbus, delivered a sermon in German.  At 2 p.m. a parade of Catholic societies started.  The ununiformed first section included Bauer’s band, A. Goeltz, grand marshal, police force, city and county officials, A.O.H., Y.M.I., members of St. Thomas congregation, St. Nicholas society. St. Joseph’s society, St. Aloysius’ society, members of St. Nicholas congregation, visiting delegations.  The second section included the Lancaster band and commaderies from Lancaster, Wheeling, Benwood, Newark, Parkersburg, Logan, Bellaire, and Zanesville.  The St. Nicholas branch of the Holy Name Society was organized in November 1902, with a charger membership of 58.  In 1913 the bell presented by Father Leininger developed a flaw and it was returned to the factory for recasting.  It was re-hung the same year and was blessed on August 30, 1904.  In 1905 the congregation bought the former David Schmidt residence across Greenwood Avenue from the church parsonage.  Father Leininger realized that the Margaret Blue Sanitarium on the South River Road was inadequate and used his influence for construction of a new and large institution which is now the Good Samaritan Hospital.  In 1927 he planned construction of the original section of the present school.  Bishop Hartley of Columbus laid the cornerstone on July 4.  In 1942, under the pastorate of Father Joseph G. Bender, St. Nicholas proudly celebrated its 100th anniversary.  Rev. Father Linus J. Dury came to Zanesville on August 22,19-.  He is a native of Columbus and attended the elementary school of St. John the Evangelist in that city.  For his high school and college training he went to St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee.  Then he studied theology four years under the Jesuits at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.  Before coming to St. Nicholas Church Father Dury was assistant at St. Mary’s in Columbus for 11 years and pastor at Holy Cross, Columbus, for seven years.   While at St. Mary’s he was chaplain at the Ohio State Deaf School.  During his eight years at St. Nicholas Father Dury has supervised the addition of four rooms to the school, the remodeling of the front end of the church in 1952, and the construction of the new convent in 1955 and the new rectory in 1957.