Ten Proposed Nominees for the National Register of Historic Places, One for State Registry of
Archaeological and Historic Landmarks, Will Be Considered
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board will meet on Friday,
December 5, 2008, at 10 a.m. at the State Library of Ohio, 274 E. First Ave., Columbus. At the
meeting, the board will review 10 proposed Ohio nominations to the National Register of Historic
Places. They include:
Bellaire / Belmont County
Rock Hill Presbyterian Church
56244 High Ridge Rd.
Cincinnati / Hamilton County
Mount Airy Forest
5083 Colerain Ave.
Cleveland Heights / Cuyahoga County
Inglewood Historic District
Inglewood Dr., Oakridge Dr., Cleveland Heights Blvd., Yellowstone Rd., Glenwood Rd., and Quilliams
Rd.
Colerain Township / Belmont County
Concord Hicksite Friends Meeting House
East Side of Negus Rd.
Dennison / Tuscarawas County
The Railway Chapel (First Presbyterian Church)
301-307 Grant St.
East Sparta / Stark County
The Town Pump
Intersection of Walnut St. and Main Ave.
Enon / Clark County
Old Enon Road Stone Arch Culvert
Rocky Point Rd., about 185 feet west of Old Mill Rd.
Ironton / Lawrence County
Selby Shoe Company Building
1603 S. Third St.
New Carlisle / Clark County
Olive Branch High School
9710 W. National Rd.
Wellston / Jackson County
Harvey Wells House
403 E. A St. (Lots 441 & 442)
If the board finds that the proposed nominations appear to meet the criteria for listing on the
National Register it will recommend to Ohio’s State Historic Preservation Officer, Dr. William K.
Laidlaw, Jr., that they be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for
her consideration.
The board will also review a study, “Historic Resources of the Cincinnati Park and Parkway System
1817-1959,” that, if approved by the board and the National Park Service, will become a basis for
deciding what components of Cincinnati’s parks and parkway system may be eligible for National
Register listing. If the board approves the content of the study, Mount Airy Forest will be the
first component of the park system to be considered for nomination to the National Register as an
outcome of the study.
In addition, the board will consider one proposed nomination to Ohio’s State Registry of
Archaeological and Historic Landmarks:
Clermont County / Loveland
Charles C. Meade House
11887 Lebanon Rd.
The 17-member board, chaired by Aaron Askew of Columbus, is appointed by the governor to advise the
Ohio Historical Society and the state on historic preservation matters. It includes professionals
in history, architecture, archaeology, and other historic preservation related disciplines as well
as citizen members. The board meets three times each year to consider proposed Ohio nominations to
the National Register of Historic Places and conduct other business.
About the National Register
The National Register lists places that should be preserved because of their significance in
American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture. It includes buildings,
sites, structures, objects, and historic districts of national, state, and local importance.
To be eligible for listing on the National Register a property or district must:
be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of
our history, or
be associated with the lives of people significant in our past, or
embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or
represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values, or represent a significant,
distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction (e.g. a historic district),
or
have yielded, or be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
National Register listing often raises community awareness of a property. However, listing does not
obligate owners to repair or improve their properties and does not prevent them from remodeling,
altering, selling, or even demolishing them if they choose to do so.
Owners or long-term tenants who rehabilitate income-producing properties listed on the National
Register can qualify for a 20 percent federal income tax credit if the work they do follows the
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, guidelines used nationwide for repairs
and alterations to historic buildings.
In Ohio anyone may prepare a National Register nomination. Nominations are made through the Ohio
Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society. Proposed nominations are reviewed by
the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board, a governor-appointed panel of citizens and
professionals in history, architecture, archaeology, and related fields. The board reviews each
nomination to see whether it appears to be eligible for listing on the National Register, then
makes a recommendation to the State Historic Preservation Officer. The final decision to add a
property to the register is made by the National Park Service, which administers the program
nationwide.
About the State Registry of Archaeological and Historic Landmarks
The State Registry of Archaeological and Historic Landmarks program is Ohio’s effort to provide
increased recognition and protection for significant archaeological and historic sites.
Authorized under legislation passed by the Ohio General Assembly in 1976, the State Registry
program is administered by the Ohio Historical Society and includes provisions for designating
sites, structures, buildings, objects, or districts.
Any person can prepare a State Registry nomination form for consideration by the Ohio Historic
Site Preservation Advisory Board. Nominations are made through the Ohio Historic Preservation
Office of the Ohio Historical Society.
Upon approval by the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board, the State Registry nomination
is submitted to the State Historic Preservation Officer and the Director of the Ohio Historical
Society for final ratification.
Following approval of a nomination to the State Registry, and after final ratification by the
Director of the Ohio Historical Society, a written agreement between the property owner and the
Ohio Historical Society is filed in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the
property is located.
About the Ohio Historic Preservation Office
The Ohio Historic Preservation Office is Ohio’s official historic preservation agency. A part of
the Ohio Historical Society, it identifies historic places in Ohio, nominates properties to the
National Register of Historic Places, reviews federally-assisted projects for effects on historic,
architectural, and archaeological resources in Ohio, consults on the conservation of older
buildings and sites, and offers educational programs and publications.
Background
The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board will consider the following properties and
districts for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places at its December 5, 2008,
meeting. Additional background on the properties is available to be faxed or e-mailed on request.
Contact Tom Wolf, (614) 298-2000, (614) 297-2346, or twolf@ohiohistory.org.
Bellaire / Belmont County
Rock Hill Presbyterian Church, 56244 High Ridge Rd.
Proposed for nomination to the National Register for its local architectural significance, Rock
Hill Presbyterian Church was designed by Fairmont, WV, architect George D. Giffin, a native of
Belmont County, whose father, Hugh Giffin, belonged to Rock Hill Presbyterian Church at the time
the new church was built. Completed in 1903 at a cost of $13,000 to replace an 1891 building that
had been destroyed by fire after being struck by lightning, the asymmetrical red brick church has
Gothic-arched stained glass windows and a square tower and steeple. The interior features the
original oak pews and woodwork, and ornamental pressed metal wainscot and ceiling. The
auditorium-style floor plan with a sloped floor and pews arranged in concentric arcs is one favored
by many Protestant congregations at the time, designed to enhance hearing and sightlines. A large
Sunday School room at the rear can be opened to the sanctuary by tall folding doors.
Cincinnati / Hamilton County
Mount Airy Forest, 5083 Colerain Ave.
Mount Airy Forest is the largest park in Cincinnati’s park system. Created in 1911, the vast
majority of it was developed during the Depression with federal funding and federal labor programs.
Mount Airy Forest is proposed for nomination to the National Register for its history as one of the
earliest urban reforestation projects in the nation; as a Depression-era development using federal
WPA and CWA funding; and for the African-American Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor that
provided manpower for planting trees, building roads and trails, and constructing shelters and
comfort stations. The park is also proposed for nomination to the register as a work of landscape
architecture jointly designed by noted landscape architect George E. Kessler and State Forester
Edmund Secrest; for the quality of construction and craftsmanship of its rustic-style buildings and
structures; and for its association with R. Carl Freund, the Cincinnati Park Board’s most prolific
architect, who designed 12 buildings in Mount Airy Forest between 1930 and 1959.
Cleveland Heights / Cuyahoga County
Inglewood Historic District, Inglewood Dr., Oakridge Dr., Cleveland Heights Blvd., Yellowstone Rd.,
Glenwood Rd., and Quilliams Rd.
Located north of Mayfield Rd. between Taylor and Warrensville Rds., the proposed Inglewood Historic
District encompasses two Shaker Heights Improvement Company subdivisions of the 1920s centered on
Inglewood Dr. Proposed for nomination to the National Register for its local historical and
architectural significance, Inglewood was developed as a “neighborhood for finer homes” by brothers
Oris P. and Mantis J. Van Sweringen, who also developed Shaker Heights. The Inglewood development
was laid out by F. A. Pease Engineering Co. in June 1920 in the picturesque Garden City style, with
curvilinear streets and 81 lots of varying sizes. In 1923 the northwest corner Oakridge lots were
combined and subdivided to create eight additional lots along Quilliams Rd. The 78 houses of 1920
to 1958 in the proposed district include homes in the historical revival styles styles favored at
the time, designed by leading Cleveland architects such as Howell and Thomas, Walker and Weeks,
Charles Schneider, and Bloodgood Tuttle, following design standards set by the Van Sweringens.
Colerain Township / Belmont County
Concord Hicksite Friends Meeting House, East Side of Negus Road
One of nine remaining Ohio meeting houses associated with the Hicksite Quakers, a once-numerous
sect that no longer exists in eastern Ohio, the Concord Hicksite Friends Meeting House is proposed
for nomination to the National Register for its local historical and architectural significance.
Concord was the first organized Quaker meeting in Ohio, largely made up of Quakers from two North
Carolina meetings who settled in Colerain Township en masse in 1800, drawn by the guarantee that
the Northwest Territory would be free from slavery. Built in 1815, the one-story brick meeting
house replaced an earlier log one that burned in 1814. It became the spiritual home of many early
Ohio Quakers. The Concord Friends played an important role in the 1828 division that split the
Society of Friends; after the 1828 division, the building became the property of the Hicksites, the
smaller of the two Quaker factions. As originally built, the one-story brick meeting house was
typical of most Friends meeting houses built between 1770 and 1870, with separate areas for men and
women, divided by a moveable partition. In 1898, following a national trend among the Hicksites,
members “reduced” the building, removing part of it to create a smaller meeting house that allowed
families to sit together and was easier to heat. The Concord Hicksites disbanded in 1919, and
since then the meeting house has been used for other purposes.
Dennison / Tuscarawas County
The Railway Chapel (First Presbyterian Church), 301-307 Grant St.
A Romanesque Revival style church completed in 1871, the Railway Chapel is proposed for nomination
to the National Register for its association with the role that the Pennsylvania Railroad and its
subsidiaries played in the development of Dennison. The Steubenville & Indiana Railroad Co. was
chartered in 1848 to build a line from Steubenville across Ohio to the Indiana border. From its
inception, the road was controlled and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1864-65, the
Steubenville & Indiana bought land and platted Dennison as its principal division point, midway
between Pittsburgh and Columbus. The site was picked purely for its location, as there was no
existing town or center of commerce. Everything about the community radiated from the railroad. As
Dennison and its rail-related facilities grew, the railroad also actively promoted the community’s
social welfare, building company houses and other facilities. Superintendent W.W. Card and Thomas
Denmead, Master Mechanic at the Dennison Shops, took a particular interest in community activities,
and contacted the Presbytery of Steubenville to start a church in Dennison. Five lots were donated
by the Dennison Land Company, which the railroad had organized in 1864. Most of the labor and
material were also provided by the railroad, which even laid a temporary spur to the church site
to facilitate deliveries of building supplies. Several railroad officials donated $500 each to the
project, and the bell was given by Benjamin Smith, a prominent Columbus railroad man. Furnishings
were constructed or donated by railroaders, most notably the walnut pews, which were built in the
Dennison Car Shops. Their reversible backs, still intact today, were patterned after seat designs
used in railroad coaches of the era. The proposed National Register nomination also includes the
Second Empire style manse next door, built in 1872.
Enon / Clark County
Old Enon Road Stone Arch Culvert, Rocky Point Rd., about 185 feet west of Old Mill Rd.
Built of locally-quarried limestone in 1871 by Samuel S. Taylor, a local stone mason, the Old Enon
Road Stone Arch Culvert is proposed for nomination to the National Register as an example of the
type of culverts once common on Ohio roadways but now rare. Culverts are small bridges that allow
streams to pass under roads. The Old Enon Road Stone Arch Culvert is the oldest of 241 active
bridges and culverts in Clark County, and is the only stone culvert among them. In Ohio, stone
culverts were built throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th, though few remain today.
Ironton / Lawrence County
Selby Shoe Company Building, 1603 S. Third St.
The 1926 Selby Shoe Company Building is proposed for nomination to the National Register for its
association with the history of industry and architecture in Ironton. A women’s shoe manufacturer,
Selby Shoe Company originated in Portsmouth, Ohio, in the 1870s and began operations in Ironton in
1921. The five-story reinforced concrete Art Deco style building, completed in 1926, is ornamented
with blue, green and orange tile. It had a capacity of 500 pairs of shoes a day in 1926, although
the plant was designed to produce 2,500 pairs a day at capacity, and produced 3,200 pairs a day
at its peak in 1938. From 1944 to 1987 the building housed the Wilson Athletic Goods Manufacturing
Co., and from 1987 to 1997 Cabletron Systems made circuit boards there.
New Carlisle / Clark County
Olive Branch High School, 9710 W. National Rd.
Olive Branch High School is proposed for nomination to the National Register for its association
with the history of educational innovation in Bethel Township and as an example of a rural
Progressive Era high school. Completed at a cost of $30,000 in 1908, it was designed by Dayton
architect Charles I. Williams in the Craftsman style popular at the time. Dr. William Oxley
Thompson, president of The Ohio State University, dedicated the building on May 15, 1908. After a
1913 fire, the school was rebuilt along the same lines on the original foundation. The unusual plan
with four classrooms that open onto a central common reflects a longstanding interest in
educational innovation in Bethel Township, which in the 1880s had been one of the first rural
townships in Ohio to build a high school.
East Sparta / Stark County
The Town Pump, Intersection of Walnut St. and Main Ave.
Proposed for nomination to the National Register as the community’s most well-known landmark, the
Town Pump in the center of the East Sparta’s principal intersection has served residents and
travelers for many years, and has become a symbol of the village. The well in the square was dug
about 1846, serving as local residents’ primary water source for many years. Until 1921 the pump
was enclosed only by a wooden casing, with a platform built around it. In 1921 a shelter was added
by a crew of bricklayers who were in East Sparta working on a pipeline pumping station. They
offered to build the shelter if the town supplied the bricks, which were donated by Federal Clay
Products Co. of East Sparta. Built of locally-produced salt-glazed orange-brown brick, the shelter
has a sandstone panel in the north wall bearing the inscription “East Sparta, Erected Aug. 5, 1921,
Lang & Co.” Even after a community water system was installed circa 1950, the pump remained in use.
It is unique in the region as a reminder of a time before municipal water service was available.
Wellston / Jackson County
Harvey Wells House, 403 E. A St. (Lots 441 & 442)
A two-story Italianate style frame house built in 1883 on a high vantage point overlooking Wellston,
the Wells House is proposed for nomination to the National Register for its association with Harvey
Wells (1846-1896), a mathematician, entrepreneur, and business leader who platted Wellston in 1873
with the idea that it would grow to become a center of southeast Ohio’s coal and iron ore industries.
Although Wells died heavily in debt in 1896, his business dealings spurred the growth of Wellston
to a peak population of 8,045 in 1900, and he was remembered as a man who sacrificed personal
fortune for the good of the people and to keep the city alive. In 1912, the Sun Semi-Weekly
newspaper of Jackson, quoting a Portsmouth paper, said “Harvey Wells was one of the most
picturesque characters ever produced in Southern Ohio, or anywhere else for that matter. In the
first place he was a lightning calculator of almost marvelous powers, and that gave him his first
claim to fame. Then, he took it into his head to build a city out of nothing, and in that he
succeeded. Wellston stands today to testify. Harvey Wells had faith, oceans of it, and followed up
his faith with works and that combination seldom fails.”
Nomination to the State Registry of Archaeological and Historic Landmarks
The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board will consider the following property for
nomination to Ohio’s State Registry of Archaeological and Historic Landmarks at its December 5,
2008, meeting. Additional background is available to be faxed or e-mailed on request. Contact Tom
Wolf, (614) 298-2000, (614) 297-2346, or twolf@ohiohistory.org.
Clermont County / Loveland
Charles C. Meade House, 11887 Lebanon Rd.
Built in 1906 as the home of Dr. Charles C. Meade, who had a horse-breeding and -racing farm on
the property until 1917, the Meade House is proposed for nomination to Ohio’s State Registry of
Archaeological and Historic Landmarks for its local historical and architectural significance.
Meade, a homeopathic physician, was president of the Homeopathic Medical Society and a professor
of obstetrics at Cincinnati’s Pulte Medical College. He developed the farm replete with barns,
outbuildings, a tenant house, and training track on 200-plus acres in Symmes Township near Loveland
to pursue his interest in breeding and training trotters and pacers. Architecturally, the
two-and-a-half story house with full portico is an example of the early 20th century revival of
18th and early 19th century American styles based on Classical architecture, such as the Greek
Revival.
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Contact Tom Wolf, Public Education Manager, Ohio Historic Preservation Office, (614) 298-2000, or via e-mail:
twolf@ohiohistory.org
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