The first Catholics in Hocking County were a group of six families that emigrated from Germany in 1837. As they settled into the area, they celebrated Mass with the Eucharist with a traveling pastor every six to seven weeks.

As the community grew, they purchased property outside of the city limits for the first church in 1848. This was when our parish was placed under the patronage of St. John the Evangelist.

But, even with a church building of our own, the Eucharist was still only available every six weeks. It wasn't until 1858 that a petition was sent to the bishop requesting a resident pastor for Logan, with a promised annual salary of $473.50 to show the parish could support a priest.

Just a year later, in 1859, with a parish of around 300 people, the parish purchased this North Market Street property. A wooden frame church was built by a parishioner where the rectory now stands, and the parish began worshipping here in town by 1861.

Ground was broken for a new church building (our current church home) in 1896 and work was completed in June 1898. The Hocking Sentinel reported that more than 3,000 people came by train to attend the dedication.

Our elementary school, St. John Catholic School, was built in 1924, with classes in grades one through eight. The school was originally run by sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, based in Cincinnati, who lived in the convent on the property. While the sisters are no longer with us, St. John School continues to offer education to students in Preschool thru sixth grade. For more information about our school, visit https://stjohnlogan.org.

In addition to the school, the St. John parish has remained an active part of the community through organizations like the Knights of Columbus, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and We Are Friends, as well as events like fish fries, community dinners, and movie nights!

St. John the Evangelist Church is a member of the National Registry of Historical Places.