The current church was completed in 1842, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was under the care of the Order of Preachers until July 2017.

To be named St. John the Baptist, the cruciform building's blueprints were a gift of a New York architect,[3] and the cornerstone was laid on March 4, 1825.

[6] Construction for the foundation of St. Thomas began in 1842, with Zanesville's Protestant community contributed funding; local Quaker, John Howard, donated stone from his property.

[2][4] The cornerstone for St. Thomas Aquinas Church was laid on March 17, 1842 by bishop Richard Pius Miles of Nashville.

[7] In March 2017, The Dominican Province of Saint Joseph announced that the Order of Preachers would no longer staff the parish, and a priest of the Diocese of Columbus would be pastor, as of July 11.

[10] Fundraising for an estimated $1.7 million dollars in repairs was approved by bishop Robert J. Brennan in July 2020,[11] and the parish used the main church for Christmas Mass in 2021 after holding worship services at an alternate site for a time.

[12] The parish school began operating in the church basement in 1830, and was staffed by The Dominican Sisters of the Springs and the Holy Cross Brothers at various times.