Nomination for Sawyer-Curtis House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Sawyer-Curtis House and or common street & number Route 2, Box 209 - not for publication city, town - vicinity of Present Use -district - public - unoccupied - agriculture _ museum X building(s) X private _ park - structure _both _ work in progress X private residence .site _ religious - in process & yes: unrestricted -government .transportation . other: Herbert L. and Linda Roush courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. has this property been determined eligible? - yes X no _ federal depository for survey records 039 167 Washington 5.

Location of Legal Description Ownership county None code date Accessible Category entertainment commercial state Marietta object military historic educational industrial Status Ohio local Inventory-Nomination Form National Register of Historic Places scientific 2. Location Little Hocking title 6. Representation in Existing Surveys being considered 4. Owner of Property Public Acquisition 3. Classification Washington County Courthouse 1. Name (3-82) The Curtis House For NPS use only received SEP 2 0 1984 NPS Form 10-900 Type all entries - complete applicable sections X yes: unrestricted X original site X altered -fair Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Sawyer House is a 30'x 40', two story, five bay facade structure of timber-framed construction covered by horizontal clapboards painted white. It is symmetrical with a (three: front, north side, rear) and eave brackets exhibit Italianate detail and were The original windows were six-over-six and were replaced wtih one-over-one windows with louvered shutters around the end of the nineteenth century. The three original doors half of the front and rear doors have two lights and the side door is a solid pine panel back door openings are square.

The floor plan would seem to have been influenced by New England design, as it is center of the facade, opens directly to a small entry that includes a left-winding the entry (northeast and southeast corners), probably the equivalent of the traditional Originally, there were three rooms across the rear of the house that were probably the remodeling, and a narrow staircase and hall separate the southwest room from the central The floor plan of the second floor mirrors the plan of the first, and the rooms on the second are bedrooms only. The basement has a dirt floor and massive cut sandstone foundation, measuring 10' x 12', side of the chimney foundation and there may have been a fireplace and bake oven along the south side, but this is unclear.

The heavy timber-frame creating the structural skeleton for the house is evidenced in joists supporting part of the second floor are exposed in the southeast room of the sive: it is a hewn frame for a hipped roof. The center supports are two king posts 5" x 5" (common) . Condition unexposed excellent moveddate 7. Description supporting the central chimney.Evidence indicates there was a fireplace along the east Check one theirwidest point;the rafters range from 10"x7"(hip),to _ unaltered door, wider than the others. The lights in the front door are rounded at the top; the identical to traditional layouts from that region.1 The front door, located in the A large room is located on each side of round and hewn. The round joists measure about 7" in diameter and the hewn joists are corner posts that project into the rooms and are boxed in by vertical boards.

The floor are located on the east (front), north (side) and the west (rear) elevations. The top deteriorated ruins "dog leg" staircase to the second story.A beside the central chimney.Extending from the king posts are a series of hip, principal, ground railroad and the half-size bracket on the front facade(third from the end on room.The central room has a large fireplace opening coming off the central chimney. which separated it from the central room removed during an earlier the northeast corner)is said to have been its identifying mark. OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Sawyer-Curtis House, Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio Continuation sheet Item number Some of the original woodwork is missing.

None of the first floor fireplaces have the mantels and the mantel of the northeast bedroom on the second floor has been removed. The southeast bedroom on the second floor has the best surviving fireplace in the house, original doors in the house are six panel, Federal-style, with butt hinges. Both staircases appear to be original and are constructed of walnut (newel posts, balusters, handrails, treads, risers). Sitting directly behind the house is a 14' x 30' building built by Horace Curtis to house the first Post Office, general store, and later the offices of the Toll Bridge sawn frame, and is covered by horizontal clapboards. The Sawyer House overlooks the Ohio River and retains much of its traditional landscape stone retaining wall. Eight additional sugar maples are scattered throughout the backyard.

Hugh Morrison, Early American Architecture: From the First Colonial Settlements to Page received National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form dale entered NPS Form 10-900-a Far NPS use only Co., and steam and grist mill company. The building is constructed of a light, circular the National Period (new York: Oxford University Press, 1952), PP. 49 - 71. (3-82) and contains a Federal style mantel and built-in wall cabinet beside it.Surviving Areas of Significance-Check and justify below X architecture X 1700-1799 -music X. exploration settlement ..industry Builder Architect Statement of

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Criteria B & C The Sawyer-Curtis House derives its architectural significance as being one of the earliest surviving houses in Ohio, and appears to be based heavily on New England Its historical importance comes from the association with Nathaniel Sawyer, an early citizen of Little Hocking and Washington County in southeast Ohio. It is of special interest due to its timber-framed construction and traditional New England floor plan, making it an excellent example of cultural ture, particularly in its large central chimney. This central-chimney hall/parlor farmhouse, heavily framed and clapboarded was the dominant housing form in the New England states until the substitution of light ballon framing in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

This traditional New England housing form can be traced back these building methods with them making this area of what is now Ohio and was one of the earliest settled areas in the Northwest Territory, a cultural extension of the eastern states into the Ohio Valley. new sites in what is now Belpre township for settlement. Belpre township was to be point of above to one or two miles above the mouth of the Little Hock hocking River; Nathaniel Sawyer was a soldier of the Revolution from Newburyport, Massachusetts. He came early to the Ohio country, arriving in Marietta in 1789. He eventually took deed to 507 acres of land that included all of the present village of Little Hocking. He first built a log cabin at the mouth of the Little Hocking River, set out a fine verted to a "cracker" mill and was the first in this part of the Ohio Company lands. Federal Creek, Rome Township.

The DAR has noted his grave and listed him in their roster of Revolutionary War soliders buried in Ohio. transportation 1600-1699 philosophy 1800-1899 1500-1599 1400-1499 commerce communications 8. Significance archeology-historic education Period engineering humanitarian invention theater literature science unknown agriculture prehistoric law social/ sculpture Virginia.Mr. Sawyer removed his family to what is now Rome Township, Athens County, lower Belpre continued down to the Athens county line.l Nathaniel Sawyer was instru- -conservation military mental in the settling of lower Belpre and Little Hocking.

other (specify) Mr.Sawyer remained here until 1806,when he sold his property to Mr.Reuban Allen of the Little Kanawha River to the landsof A.W.Putnam;middle Belpre was from the ending Soon after the establishment of Marietta in 1787,the Ohio Company set out to survey 1900- ---politics/government ----economics .art Specific dates The Sawyer-Curtis House is one of the last remaining houses from the pioneer period to sixteenth century England where it was transmitted by English settlers into New , Upper Belpre started from a point slightly above Ohio and died there in 1813. He is buried at Pioneer Cemetery, located at the head of diffusion to Ohio. The house resembles the New England frame house in plan and struc- archeology-prehistoric -communityplanning precedent.It is reportedly the first permanent house built in Belpre Township.

for his permanent house at this mill.The house was built in 1798.It then was con- built 1798 laid out in three distinct sections. Ohio pioneer from a subsequent prominent Williams History of Washington County, Ohio 1788 - 1881, page 506. History of Newbury, Washington County, Ohio, Laura Curtis Preston, 1909, page 4. UT M References recorded description is: Vol.

548, page 444, Washington County Recorder's Office, List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries State N/A date May 31, 1983 street & number Route 2 - Box 209 city or town Ohio 45742 The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _ national As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated State Historic Preservation Officer signature For NPS use only Chief of Registration U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 1/614/989-2566 county date Easting code Northing organization Zone 11.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Form Prepared By Attest: telephone 10. Geographical Data 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification 9. Major Bibliographical References Little Hocking Quadrangle scale 1: 24000 Xlocal Quadrangle name Little Hocking Verbal boundary description and justification Lot No. 3 as shown on a plat of survey dated Herbert L. Roush, Sr. according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Acreage of nominated property 1.76 acres name/title Enatered in tha OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Sawyer-Curtis House, Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio Continuation sheet Item number the house reflects the occupancy of the Curtis family.

Curtis established the first and the Curtis store and post office became the center of the village and remained Methodist Church, still operating and were instrumental in developing the entire village then passed through several hands until purchased by the present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert I. Roush, Sr. The Unknown Settlement, A Historical Narrative of Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio 1789-1984. (Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Printing Co.)1984. SECTION 10 (Verbal Boundary description, continued) "Old Chillicothe" road ordered by the court of quarter sessions convened in 1792 in is of frame construction, in deteriorating state, unaltered, and could be restored.

The Page National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Herbert L.Roush.Mr.Roush is a writer-historian who has recently published a history NPS Form 10-900-a In 1820,Horace Curtis purchased the property.The present exterior appearance of date entered P.17. Far NPS use only post office in 1824 and served as post master for thirty years. He also opened the Curtis sent three of his sons to the Civil War from this house; built the first toll bridge across the Little Hocking river; gave the land for the local which developed into a busy river port. of Little Hocking. He is researching a Dollow-up book to be a biography of Nathaniel "Allen" house is in good condition, but altered extensively. Washington County. It followed the old Indian trail. On this same road, there are three other houses still standing of 1810-1820 circa. They are historically known as Sawyer.

(3-82) received the "Bellows,""Allen"and "Porter"houses.The "Porter"house was built by Nathaniel first general store at his property.In 1830 he built a larger building(now gone) 10 x10 RND 8x9 Rud RNU KND Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio Sawyer-Curtis House Sawyer-Curtis House Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio 10x10 7X10 3nd Floor (attie) 24X7 8x7 8X1 Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio Sawyer-Curtis House Route 2, Box 209 Little Hocking, Ohio 45742 The following dimensions are taken from the roof structure. All framing pegged together by hickory pegs. Common rafters measure: 5" X 5" Principal rafters measure: 5" X 8" Hip rafters measure: Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio Sawyer-Curtis House Ridge beam measures: King posts measure: Herbert L. Roush, Sr. Sawyer House - 1798 Roof sheathing boards measure: 1-1/4" X 9" to 18" random widths.

WASO Form - 177 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ("R" June 1984) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Sawyer-Curtis House Fed. Reg. Date: - nomination by person or local government owner objection Federal Agency: _ Lsample Jrequest Wappeal Reviewer's comments: Date Due: _ _ see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: . _ technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Present Use 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys 7.

Description Check one -unaltered -original site -excellent - moved Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph Accessible completeness yes resubmission Category Ownership REJECT ruins Status Discipline Recom./Criteria Reviewer RETURN unexposed alterations/integrity clarity deteriorated Working No. Has this property been determined eligible? Action: boundary selection Washington County Condition Public Acquisition National Register Substantive Review: NR decision SEP 2 0 1984 fair ACCEPT 10-18-84 Entered In tha good Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) summary paragraph J applicable criteria Jrelating significance to the resource relationship of integrity to significance J justification of exception - other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: State Historic Preservation Officer signature - Date - Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed . Phone: Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Period Builder/Architect title state context Maps justification of areas checked national Photographs local clarity 8. Significance UTM References completeness Dec. 1982 L. Roush, photographer (has negatives) Sawyer-Curtis House Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio view: front and south side, facing NE Dec. 1982 view: front and north side, facing SW Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio Sawyer-Curtis House L.

Roush, photographer (has negatives) "SAWYER - CURTIS HOUSE" Dec. 1982 Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio hewed pine door. L. Roush, photographer (has negatives) Upstairs hall and hand Dec. 1982 L. Roush, photographer (has negatives) Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio entry hall. "SAWYER - CURTIS HOUSE" View of front stairs in "SAWYER - CURTIS HOUSE" Dec. 1982 L. Roush, photographer (has negatives) Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio showing walnut paneling. View of back stair well Dec. 1982 L. Roush, photographer (has negatives) Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio Bedroom Federal fireplace, brandy cabinet and cased post. "SAWYER -CURTIS HOUSE" Dec. 1982 L. Roush, photographer (has negatives) Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio Bedroom hand hewed pine "SAWYER - CURTIS HOUSE" door and cased post. "SAWYER - CURTIS HOUSE" Dec. 1982 L.

Roush, photographer (has negatives) walnut beams and cased post. Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio Great Hall, showing open County, Ohio. Photo taken July 14, 1983 by Herbert Route 2, Box 209, Little Hocking Ohio 45742. Camera direction: Little Hocking, Washington L. Roush, Sr. Negatives are at South West. CURTIS POST OFFICE BUILDING CURTIS POST OFFICE BUILDING County, Ohio. Photo taken July 14, 1983 by Herbert Route 2, Box 209, Little Hockin Ohio 45742. Camera direction: L. Roush, Sr. Negatives are at Little Hocking, Washington North West. Sawyer-Curtis House Dec. 1982 Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio L. Roush, photographer (has negatives) King Post G roof framing Sawyer-Curtis House Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio Dec. 1982 L. Roush, Photographer (has negatives) Dec. 1982 L.

Roush, photographer (has negatives) view: chimney foundation Sawyer-Curtis House Little Hocking, Washington Co., Ohio LITTLE HOCKING QUADRANGLE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 7.5 MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC) UNITED STATES OHIO-WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SAWYER Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio PARLOR Sawyer-Curtis House BORNING PANTRY KITCHEN FIRST FLOOR Fuweral Little Hocking, Washington County, Ohio Sawyer-Curtis House STORAGE BED Room HALe Route 2, Box 209, Little Hocking, OH 45742 Telephone (614) 989-2566 FAX (614) 989-0101 Email: hroush@frognet.net November 25, 1997 National Register of Historic Places National Park Service U.S. Department of Interior Washington, D.C. 20240 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: A, Little Hocking, Ohio 45742. The transfer of deed was executed on the above date.

Would you be so kind as to send them verification of this notice and any information that may be useful to them? Thanking you in advance, I remain CC: Ohio Historical Preservation Office 1985 Velma Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43211 NATIONAL REGISTER, HISTURY & EDUCATION Roush, Sr. It is now the property of Jeffrey and Debra Householder, Route 2, Box 209- Herbert L. Roush, Sr. Please be advised that the Sawyer-Curtis house at Little Hocking, Washington County, Sincerely yours, Ohio has changed ownership.This property was owned by Herbert L. and Linda Lou DEC - 3 1997