Church from 1860 with few remaining members to close near Ohio Statehouse

Central Presbyterian Church on South Third Street and East Town Street in Columbus.

COLUMBUS — A more than 150-year-old church with a shrinking congregation is set to close about a block from the Ohio Statehouse.

The last service at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Columbus is planned for Nov. 20.

Church leadership council member Linda Wood tells The Columbus Dispatch the church has only about 40 active members, making it difficult to pay the bills.

The congregation was founded in 1839, and the church was dedicated in 1860. The Columbus Metropolitan Library website says the church has a stained glass window that was displayed first at a Chicago world's fair, where it won an award.

A lawyer overseeing the closing says the plan is to sell the church, possibly to a buyer who will turn it into a performance space.