, OH
The Root Homestead was built in 1879 by Amos Ives Root, founder of the A. I. Root Company, shortly after he moved his business from the town square. The homestead housed several generations of the Root family until 1953 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. A pioneer of the beekeeping industry, Root helped to standardize such beekeeping equipment and tools as the Langstroth removable frame hive and the centrifugal honey extractor. As a result, beekeepers were able to harvest more honey every season without harming the bees. A prolific author and publisher, Root educated beekeepers across the globe and built a sense of community within the profession. (Continued on other side)
, OH
Construction of this Great Stone Viaduct began in 1870 at Union Street as an Ohio approach to the railroad bridge spanning the Ohio River. It was completed to Rose Hill in April 1871, and the entire bridge span connecting Ohio to West Virginia, of which the Viaduct is a part, was opened to rail traffic on June 21, 1871. Jointly constructed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Central Ohio Railroad, its sandstone piers rise in varying heights 10 to 20 feet above the streets, from which are placed 43 stone arches supported by 37 ring stones (18 on each side of a keystone) intended to symbolize a united Union consisting of 37 states. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, this Ohio River crossing became known as the “Great Shortline to the West.”
, OH
Erected in 1828, the Randolph Mitchell House is a five-bay, Federal-style “I” house. Its facade features a doorway with an Adam-style fan and sidelights. The interior boasts a grand stairway in the foyer and fine woodwork throughout. Randolph Mitchell (1796-1847) was born in Rockingham County, Virginia. In 1819, Mitchell and his mother Sarah (1765-1844), settled in New Reading and he married Lydia Witmer (1798-1872). They had four children. A merchant, Mitchell kept an ample smokehouse and owned a tannery and real estate. He served as a justice of the peace for Reading Township. After Mitchell’s death, his son-in-law, Dr. W.W. Arnold (1818-1872) maintained his practice in the home, where he and Caroline Mitchell Arnold (1825-1888) lived. Their son William Arnold (1858-1948) acquired the house, which remained in the family until 1951. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
, OH
Completed in 1865, this home was the vacation retreat of Jay Cooke and his family. Known as the “financier” for the Union states during the Civil War, Cooke organized a program to sell millions of dollars worth of bonds to support the war effort. The house is of a high Victorian Italianate mode with a Gothic style tower topped with crenellations. Distinctive hood moldings outline windows and over-scaled and ornamental brackets support crowning cornices. The house, commonly known as Cooke Castle, hosted many notables of the time, including William T. Sherman, William Howard Taft, Rutherford B. Hayes, Salmon Chase, and John Brown, Jr. Born in Sandusky in 1821, Cooke, an avid fisherman, acquired the island for $3,001 in 1864. University trustee Julius Stone gave the island to The Ohio State University in 1925. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks in 1966.
, OH
The First Congregational Church of Claridon has served the community since it was dedicated in the summer of 1832. Twenty-seven souls from the Burton Congregational Church petitioned to form their own church in Claridon in November 1827, and their request was granted the following month. In 1830, a committee made up of Cotton Kellogg, Chester Treat, and Asa Cowles contracted with John Talbot and Rufus Hurlburt to build the church. When “sledding” came during the winter of 1831, logs were hauled to Cotton Kellogg’s sawmill to be cut into lumber. (Continued on other side)
, OH
The Hotel Ashtabula was built in 1920 during an economic boom that lasted most of that decade. Architecturally, it represents a combination of Second Renaissance Revival and Georgian Revival styles. The H.L. Stevens and Company of Chicago and New York designed and built the hotel and others like it in Cleveland, Dayton, and Warren, Ohio and throughout the Midwest. The building included a ball room accommodating 300, a dining room that could seat 125, and club meeting and social rooms. A prominent structure of this downtown street, the Hotel Ashtabula was a hub for social activity. (Continued other side)
, OH
One of America’s leading architects of the early 20th century, Cass Gilbert (1859-1934), was born in a home that stood at this site. After studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gilbert apprenticed with prominent architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. The critical success of his first major public building, the design of the 1895 Minnesota State Capitol, established his national reputation. His influential 1912 Woolworth building, at 792 feet, was then the world’s tallest building, earning Gilbert’s nickname of “Father of the Modern Skyscraper.” Combining classical designs with modern technology, Gilbert also created the United State Supreme Court building (1932) in Washington, D.C., an enduring icon of American justice and democracy. His other achievements include the Arkansas and West Virginia capitols, the U.S. Custom House in New York, and several buildings at Oberlin College. Gilbert served as the president of the American Institute of Architects and the National Academy of Design.
, OH
William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) was a Miami University faculty member in 1836 when he compiled the first edition of the McGuffey Eclectic Reader in this house. His Reader taught lessons in reading, spelling, and civic education by using memorable stories of honesty, hard work, thrift, personal respect, and moral and ethical standards alongside illustrative selections from literary works. The six-edition series increased in difficulty and was developed with the help of his brother Alexander Hamilton McGuffey. After the Civil War the Readers were the basic schoolbooks in thirty-seven states and by 1920 sold an estimated 122 million copies, reshaping American public school curriculum and becoming one of the nation’s most influential publications. (Continued on other side)
614.297.2300
Contact Us
