A couple of Saturdays ago we wrote a piece on the Underground Railroad and devoted most of it to the old stone house up on Oak Grove Road. The pictures in that piece were loaned to me. The latest having been taken in 1987 by our friend "jws".
Being another beautiful spring day with some more summer temperatures I went up on that hill to check it out. Before today I have never been there. It's kind of sad as you can see in the pictures above. There's not much left of the place other than the two end walls. The roof and the second floor is entirely caved in. Most of the front and back walls are gone and Mother Nature is slowly reclaiming that piece of ground.
The first two pictures above are the front of the place from different angles. The third picture is of the left wall. You can see the growth that is taking over the place. You would need a machete to hack your way through to get into the place. The fourth picture is what I suspect is the remnants of a spring house. It is located a little up the hill to the left of the place. Further up the hill is a brick lined hole in the ground and you can see water running out of a clay pipe.
The ER is advertising they are going to do a piece in the Sunday Riverstyle section. Their teaser is "Just how old is this house?" Well, we already know that. The lady researching the Devore family through old census records tells me it took seven years for this house to get built. The stone in the walls is 18" thick and one foot long. Edward Devore completed this house in 1802. We going to do more on the Devore family later on but she told me Mr. Devore came here in 1793 and was the second man to settle in Columbiana County.
As "jws" say if only those walls could talk...
ole nib
6 comments:
Hi Nib,
I wrote the piece that will be in Sunday's Riverstyle. So many people have done a fine job with digging up information, that it was pretty tough to find anything fresh. It will also feature 1987 pictures from jws.
I just thought it would be a good idea to put it in the paper since some folks might not have access to the Internet, or might not even know of the house's existance.
I saw the new pictures and my heart broke. Hopefully it will spur others to take up the preservation initiative, especially in regard to timeless landmarks.
Regards,
Jeremy Lydic
Nice article. I remember hiking up there when I was around 12 or 13 , after my father told me about the history of the house. Back then , with the curiosity and enthusiasm of youth ,it was a great find , and still is today. Thanks for posting.
Can you imagine letting such a wonderful piece of American history just rot away ?
Jeremy - I thoroughly enjoyed your piece and was glad you and your editors considered it worthwhile. You can bet I'll be saving your article in my archives. You're absolutely correct when you say some folks don't have access to the internet - the new fangled thing! Although I'm on-line I didn't know of this house's existence until the painting on the floodwall and I'm a Wellsville native. Thanks to Jack noticing one of my pieces we were able to get a lot more info on the place. I wouldn't know where to begin if it wasn't for him and his co-hort at the library. They have been tremendous resources. History really intrigues me but I am such a neophyte. In the last year or so I have gotten very much interested in Wellsville history.
It is heart breaking to see the difference in the place from when Jack took his pictures in 1987. It is amazing what a toll 21 years can take on an unkempt place. Considering it was one of the few places left around here at the time of the start of Wellsville & Ohio history that it wasn't preserved. Hopefully, as you said, it will spur others to take some initiative.
ole nib
Jeremy:
Why didnt you include the fact in your article, that a mural can be viewed at the flood wall. I think alot of people would like to see it, if they knew it was there and were interested in your piece? I didn't understand that not being included.
I did not know such a place existed until I saw it on the flood wall. Then I asked around and was told where it was located. This is a very important piece of history and I am glad that we now at least have a picture for people to see because someday the real thing will be gone. It does not seem like anyone is interested in saving what is left. I wonder why the historical society never intervened and tried to save such an important and historic landmark?
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