Cassella is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Marion Township

Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio

Marion Township is one of the fourteen townships of Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,969 people in the township, 2,605 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...

, Mercer County

Mercer County, Ohio

Mercer County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Its county seat is Celina and is named for Hugh Mercer, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.The Celina Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Mercer County.-Geography:...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Located at 40°24′22"N 84°33′8"W (40.4061581, -84.5521770), it lies at an elevation of 955 feet (291 m). Situated at the intersection of State Route 119

Ohio State Route 119

State Route 119 is an east–west highway serving rural sections of west-central Ohio. It begins just west of Fort Recovery at the eastern terminus of Indiana State Road 26 and intersects with State Route 49 in the virtual center of Fort Recovery. A "TO Indiana 26" shield can be seen...

 and Cassella-Montezuma Road in western Marion Township, it lies in the headwaters of Beaver Creek to the south of the city of Celina

Celina, Ohio

Celina is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The population was 10,303 at the 2000 census. Celina is situated on the western shores of Grand Lake St. Marys.-History:...

, the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Mercer County. Other nearby communities include Maria Stein

Maria Stein, Ohio

Maria Stein is an unincorporated community in central Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The community and the Maria Stein Convent lie at the center of the area known as the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches, where a missionary priest, Father Francis de Sales Brunner,...

, 3 miles (4.8 km) to the east, Carthagena

Carthagena, Ohio

Carthagena is an unincorporated community in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. It has an elevation of and is located at .The Saint Charles Center, originally Saint Charles Seminary, operated by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood is located in Carthagena.Carthagena is named after Cartagena,...

, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north, and St. Henry

St. Henry, Ohio

St. Henry is a village in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,271 at the 2000 census.-History:Located at the center of the village is St. Henry's Catholic Church. Completed in 1897, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-Geography:St. Henry is located at...

, 4 miles (6.4 km) to the west.

Cassella lies in the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches

Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches

The Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches is a rural region in the western part of the U.S. state of Ohio, centered near Maria Stein in Mercer County. Its name is derived from the dense concentration of large Catholic churches that dominate the area's architecture...

, a heavily Roman Catholic region of rural far western Ohio that centers on Maria Stein. It grew up around the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church is a historic Catholic church in Cassella, an unincorporated community in Mercer County, Ohio, United States...

, which was founded in 1847 and built its present building in 1858. The community's name is derived from the church, which was a mission in its earliest years; the community's German settlers called it "Cappella" (i.e. "chapel"), and this name was eventually corrupted to "Cassella." At various points in its history, the community has also been known as "Dogtown," "Frogtown," and "Marysville", and the current name has also been spelled "Cassela"; in 1963, the United States Board on Geographic Names

United States Board on Geographic Names

The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government.-Overview:...

 ruled in favor of using "Cassella" as the official name.

A post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 was established in Cassella on April 22, 1878 and served the community until its closure on June 15, 1905; after that time, the community's mail went through the post office in St. Henry. Two former parish schools

Catholic school

Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...

 are located near the church, and the community once possessed a system of public schools. One major event in Cassella's history was the near-total destruction of Nativity Church by fire in 1888; although the brick walls survived with damage, the interior was destroyed, and the walls were only repaired in 1915.

Today, Cassella remains a small community centered around Nativity Catholic Church. In 1979, the church and its rectory

Rectory

A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

 were listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

, along with many other Catholic churches and church-related buildings in the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches.