Nomination for Ada Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 10024-0018 (Oct. 1990) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form 1. Name of Property Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park historic name other names/site number 2. Location 112 East Central Avenue N/AD not for publication street & number city or town L vicinity state_Ohio county - 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this x nomination X meets does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant Dept. Head Signature of certifying official/Title Ohio Historic Preservation Office -- OH SHPC State of Federal agency and bureau 4.

National Park Service Certification ] See continuation sheet L determined eligible for the -removed from the National Register L other, (explain:) Hardin 065 comments.) Ada Date zip code Ada Depot National Register 1 01998 In my opinion, the property - meets - does not meet the National Register criteria. (L] See continuation sheet for additional I hereby certify that the property is: entered in the National Register L request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Ohio RECEIVED Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station Name of Property 5.

Classification Ownership of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check as many boxes as apply) (Check only one box) Do not include previously listed resources in the count - private & building(s) * publiç-local - public-State - public-Federal _ sites - object E structure Name of related multiple property listing Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 6. Function or Use Current Functions TRANSPORTATION: Rail Related LANDSCAPE: Park LANDSCAPE: Park & parking lot 7.

Description WOOD: white pine foundation Total roof walls other Materials Noncontributing Architectural Classification Narrative Description Historic Functions ASPHALT SHINGLES Category of Property (Enter categories from instructions) Hardin, OH and Railroad Park STAND SEAM STEEL SHED CANOPY County and State WORK IN PROGRESS U distriqt (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) LATE VICTORIAN: STICK STONE: rubble sandstone OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Continuation Sheet Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park The Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park are located near the town center of Ada, a rural northwestern Ohio college community, population 5770 (1990). A rectangular parcel adjoining War monument and a paved parking lot.

The roughly 125' x 375' parcel being nominated includes the transportation history when railroads replaced canals and stage coaches in the eastern part of the United is unique because it is one of the few Stick Style wooden stations still preserved in Ohio. Its Stick style architecture is also unique to Ada as older business buildings on Ada's Main Street were built of brick in the Italianate style similar to nearby developing villages. Other smaller wooden railroad depots along the Pennsylvania Railroad east-west line, including the first Ada depot built in 1859 by the Ohio and Indiana Railroad near the present depot, have been moved or destroyed. The skilled 40 or so men who came from the Pennsylvania Railroad craft shops in Pennsylvania The passenger station, a 76 feet by 26 feet two-storied gabled building of white pine with a sandstone foundation, was built in the Stick style.

The depot was constructed on site; nothing was the original slate roof was covered in the 1970s with asphalt shingles (Photo 11). The three chimneys are corbelled and the east chimney is decorated with cast red brick architectural scrollwork (Photo 22). Both east and west passenger sheds that extended from both sides of the station on the track-side were removed sometime in the 1960s after the station agent closed his office. Wood awnings on the south entrance and freight entrance were also removed as were the decorative roof ridgecaps. The railroad also The remaining gabled shed roof on the north has decorated triangular curved millwork brackets and exposed platform, laid from the building to the track, extends beyond on the east and the west where the extended sheds once stood; the brick is in fairly good condition (Photo 25).

Five pine entrance doors on the north and south sides of the first floor exterior and a north freight door have chevron inserts framed by an inverted cruciform (Photo 18). The first floor ticket office bay windows on the north side of the building have four 2- light windows that are clear glass. The dormer Description prefabricated (Photo 14). The track-side canopy with its original standing seam steel roof still stands, but dismantled and removed the watchman's tower at the Main Street crossing in 1960 (Historic Photos 1, 2, 3). National Register of Historic Places States.A good example of a midsize combination station serving a rural village community, the Ada depot damage to the end posts and the rafters under the canopy (Photos 20, 24).Several of the original outside boundaries of the 1 acre historic Railroad Park property.

to Ada 110 years ago were responsible for constructing the station. decorated rafters (Photo 19).The turned wood posts are set on cast iron bases.Water has caused some electric lights with porcelain steel light reflectors still hang from the rafters (Photo 23).The original brick Conrail's main line, Railroad Park today includes the original 1887 station, a landscaped park area with Civil NPS Form 10-900-a Built in 1887by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Ada, Ohio passenger station is an intact example of Hardin County, OH Section number 7 (8-86) Page 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park Hardin County, OH above on the second floor has multiple light stained glass borders track-side and the same window treatment on both sides of the dormer.

The panes are stained glass in various colors of red, blue, and yellow (Photo 13). These windows are in the second story office that housed the Western Union Telegraph in 1888 and later served as an office for the Supervisor of Track. The use of stained glass for practical as well as decorative purposes appears to have been widely used on many of the Pennsylvania's railroad depots. The freight storage area on the first floor at the west end of the Ada building has two 25-light stained glass windows on the west wall and one 12-light additional, if muted, daytime lighting" (Jacobs, 62).

Except for the removal of the two extended sheds, the awnings and ridgecaps and the replacement of the south baggage door with a glass display window in the 1980s, the exterior of the depot looks much as it description of the building materials used are documented in a 1917 Pennsylvania Railroad inventory at the National Archives in Washington D. C. (Document I). On the first floor of the interior, the partition separating the passenger waiting room and the baggage area was removed sometime before 1944. The wall and floor show traces of its location. The present space forms a 39 feet by 26 feet room with 16 foot ceilings. This space includes the restrooms. sketch plan included in the maps.) The interior pine walls and ceiling of the station are covered with narrow tongue and groove wainscoting and the floor is maple.

Window and door trim on both first and second floor windows and doors have corner blocks with rosettes. The agent's office and ticket window on the first floor facing north lighting has been added (Photo 28). Significant architectural features of the first floor interior are two fireplaces, one on the east end and one on the west wall ouside the freight storage room. Both are masonry brick with a Roman arch and decorative brick in a sawtooth manner on the front. The mantels are bluestone slate (Photo 29). They were painted several years ago by a tenant. A restroom on the first floor was modernized in the 1970s and a second restroom was added in 1995 Access to the basement is an interior door to the east of the agent's office (Photo 30). The outside The original floor under the waiting room area is concrete.

When a coal furnace, vented through the central Description (continued) did 111 years ago. Although the original plan was not available, fortunately the building date and a written now a display window.Several original globed ceiling fixtures are in place and additional modern strip basement walls are constructed of sandstone with lime mortar, and the supporting floor joists are white pine. OMB Approval No. 10240018 Continuation Sheet National Register of Historic Places A separate freight storage area 16feet by 12.5feet is enclosed at the west end.(Refer to1st floor interior stained glass window on the north wall.One railroad historian notes this type of stained glass"provided NPS Form 10-900-a are still in place (Photo 27). The baggage door trolley and track are visible above the south baggage door, (8-86) OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Continuation Sheet Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park chimney, and a coal bin were added, an additional excavation was made and this part of the basement floor is dirt. Early in the 1890s, the Ada Water, Heat, Light and Power Co. was granted a franchise to furnish utilities from a central system. Probably soon after that date a coal furnace, electric lights and village water replaced the coal burning furnace. The basement has been used for storage of various items: a cast iron bench base, lumber, an original depot water fountain, a perforated veneer molded wood bench, and two doors with the 1958 gold and brown colors of the depot (Photo 32). The entrance to the upper floor is from an outside door on the north side of the building, up a flight of stairs that curve at the top landing.

The handrail is hickory (Photo 34). Since 1972 the Ada Model railroad receiver units remains mounted on the wall of the Model Railroad clubroom (Photos 37,38, 40). In 1887, the new passenger station was built on a 123 feet by 377 feet section of land (1.05 acres) owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the center of Ada's downtown business section. The remaining land staves for shipping. The area was becoming unsightly. Agnew Welsh in The History of the Ada Community tells of two early attempts by the citizens to build a soldiers' monument in that area on Main Street. A wooden structure in about 1882 was replaced in 1892 by a brick structure that also became dilapidated In 1902, a committee of G.A.R. members secured "a seige gun from Fort Mifflin, below Philadelphia. The [War] Department charged $50 for loading the gun on board the cars and this was raised by subscription.

The Pennsylvania Railroad transported it here free of freight charge." J. B. Weber of The memorial cannon was dedicated on May 30, 1902 by Mayor L. A Greer and turned over to the Ada became a gathering place for the community. Citizens and the local newspapers began to refer to the area Hardin County, OH The railroad gave the town permission to plant a privet hedge, place benches in the area and it Leipsic, Ohio poured a limestone foundation and installed "a Barre granite base, die and gun rest for $575." was wooded to the east, and cleared land close to the track was used by the local stave company to pile The club has on display some artifacts left in the depot: the 1958 depot signs; a 1903 railroad map; signal flags; a large crossing sign; posters; and the old outside arrival/departure board. One of the Carman Post 101 of the Grand Army of the Republic (Welsh, 94-96).

renamed Central Ave.The cannon is now cared for by various service groups.Ada had a concrete Description (continued) National Register of Historic Places to Johnson Street as Railroad Alley.The park is still called Railroad Park, but the alley has been paved and Railroad Club has sub-leased the second floor and has its club room in the old telegraph office. NPS Form 10-900-a Page - replaced fireplace and stove heat, gas lights and water from a second-floor tank. A gas furnace later around the depot as Railroad Park and the dirt lane beside the park running east and west from Main Street Section number 7- OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park Hardin County, OH Description (continued) bandstand in the park where the community band played weekly during the 1930s until it was torn down sometime in the 1940s. The park site and cannon are considered contributing resources to this nomination. In 1989, a Conrail freight train transported, also "freight free" along the same route the cannon had traveled, a 1941 Pennsylvania Railroad caboose built in Altoona, PA. The Ada Community Improvement Corp. initiated a "caboose in the park" project. After five years of fund raising, volunteer restoration, and assistance from the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Lancaster PA, the Pennsylvania cabin car #477779 complete with its Keystone logo was moved to a permanent site in Railroad Park beside the depot in 1994.

Moved to the park after the period of significance, the caboose, set on a permanent base, is considered a non-contributing resource. A Friendship Garden with additional trees, herbs and flowers planted by the Hardin County Herb Society in 1991 is maintained by the Ada Chamber of Commerce, and volunteers in Railroad Park. Walks, benches, two picnic tables, and lights are maintained by the village. In 1958, after the Pennsylvania Railroad sold Railroad Park and the station to the village, Ada Council expanded the parking area from the rear of the station to the east end of Railroad Park to accommodate downtown businesses and visitors (Photo 9). Page Continuation Sheet National Register of Historic Places Section number 7 Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station Hardin, County and State 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) for National Register listing.) x A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. x C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and Period of Significance distinguishable entity whose components lack - D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations Significant Dates (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) -A owned by a religious institution or used for Significant Person - B removed from its original location.

(Complete if Criterion Bis marked above) - C a birthplace or grave. Cultural Affiliation - E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. - F a commemorative property. - G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Narrative Statement of Significance 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 X State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested - Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National - Local government - University J designated a National Historic Landmark - Other - recordedby Historic American Buildings Survey - recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # 1902 1887-1948 TRANSPORTATION Bibilography Register religious purposes. ARCHITECTURE Architect/Builder Property is: our history. individual distinction. Name of repository: Da cemetery.

and Railroad Park (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) Name of Property Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park County and State 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property JTM Reference: Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet - See continuation sheet Verbal Boundary Description Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) I1. Form Prepared By Betty Miller, Norm Rex, Jane Meininger, Margaret Campoli-CIC Trustees October 29, 1997 street & number - telephone city or town _ state OH Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. Representative black and white photographs of the property.

Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.) Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 1.05 Zone Photographs Ada date Maps organization Northing name Easting Additional Documentation name/title Ada Community Improvement Corporation 634-4045 Hardin, OH (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Name of Property VILLAGE OF ADA - zip code A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. f this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O.

Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office o Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. 45810 street & number _115 W. BUCKEYE AVE. OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Continuation Sheet Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park Hardin County, OH Statement of Significance The Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park, placed in service in December, 1887, are significant under National Register Criteria A and C. Under Criterion A, the station and park served for nearly half a century as Ada's gateway to the outside world, symbols of civic pride and a community hub, at least until the emergence of the rubber wheel and automobile age.

Ada's station, in contrast to many was not your typical small-town Ohio station, and perhaps by extension, that Ada is not just any town. century when the railroad had a profound impact on the development and growth of American Midwest towns, opening villages isolated by large areas of surrounding farmland to the rest of America. Under architecture in Ohio, an architectural mode more characteristically employed on stations in the east, and as a spacious passenger and baggage areas, an attached freight room, and an elevated second floor telegrapher's region shared commonalties in station design that distinguished them from New England and the South.

Generally newer, less ornate and more standardized, Midwestern depots can be considered transitional During the 1880s the Pennsylvania Railroad adopted standard plans for depots west of Pittsburgh on by company engineers, not architects, yet architecturally they were still often influenced by residential styles where the amount of freight or volume of passenger business did not warrant construction of separate freight house or separate passenger depot" (Berg, 246). Combination stations sheltered passenger, freight and train control under a single roof. The standardized plans reduced costs but still allowed for minor architectural West (Bohi and Grant, 41).Yet numerous exceptions did exist, such as in Ada.

of station design, with the combination plans designated class"A,""B,"or "D."Ada's Passenger Station is its Southwest Division.In contrast to large urban stations and terminals, most rural stations were designed National Register of Historic Places Perhaps more than any historic property in Ada, the station and park represent the period in the late 19th design and location. variations for individual lines and towns (Bohi and Grant, 22). The Pennsylvania developed several classes between the"fussy," custom styles of New England and the simple carbon copy ones of the trans-Mississippi fashionable at the time.Combination depots were used on railroads at"local stations of minor importance According to H.

Roger Grant, one of the nation's authorities on railroad architecture, the Midwest neighboring communities, lies at the center rather than the edge of town.Equally important are the size and office, an accommodation seldom employed on rural combination stations in the Midwest. Of the few pre- Section number - e Page - 1 proportionately large station plan probably designed to accommodate the needs of a growing college community.

Larger than the standard small town combination station plan, Ada Passenger Station features 1900 Pennsylania passenger stations still surviving in Ohio, and ofthe five Pennsylvania stations distinctively "fanciful" design of the station, both tangible evidence to all visitor's and passer's by that this Criterion C, the station is significant as an excellent and overall intact representation of Stick style railroad individually listed in the National Register in Ohio, Ada's retains much of its architectural integrity of NPS Form 10-900a OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Continuation Sheet Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park Hardin County, OH Statement of Significance (continued) Stick Style detailing, Ada Passenger Station was more like the Pennsylvania's Class "F" station reserved Ada, Ohio, known as Johnstown until June 19, 1855, was platted August 1, 1853 by William Mitchell, a timberman from Kendallville, Indiana, from land he purchased in 1852 for $1,000. The surveyor was Henry T. Rudisil, an assistant engineer for the Ohio & Indiana Railroad. In 1855, Mitchell returned to Johnson came to the Ada settlement in 1853 to set up his sawmill along the oncoming track construction and for right-of-ways, and land that would become the site of the new passenger station in 1887 and Railroad Park (Betty Miller, Small Town Sampler VI, 16).

Johnstown was named in honor of Sanford Johnson but was changed to Ada on June 19, 1855 by The Ohio & Indiana Railroad built a small 24 feet by 60 feet wood building to serve as a freight and ticket office in 1859. The 1917 Pennsylvania Railroad inventory from the National Archives with given old railroad building that had stood along the tracks west of the Main Street crossing. The operator in that Ohio. (Document II gives the history of the research.) sold it or removed it in the 1930s.

(8-86) General Thomas Kilby Smith, a Washington post office official, to avoid confusion with a Licking County, dimensions, and help from railroad experts, aided researchers to conclude it might be the lower part of an moved the building to its agricultural and historic building area at the Hardin County fairgrounds in Kenton, larger than any of the standard combination plans, and certainly more ornate, suggesting a strong local October 21, 1867, so throughout the Civil War Ada was identified on the railroad line as "Johnstown West." The railroad lease was assigned to the Pennsylvania Company on April 1, 1871. It continued to use the Historical Background building passed orders from crossbars to the moving trains. In 1996, The Hardin County Historical Society exclusively for county seat towns (Bohi and Grant, 32).

The Pennsylvania Railroad museum in Lancaster, Although the village name had been changed in 1855, the depot name was not changed to Ada until Indiana and transferred part of his holdings to Sanford M. Johnson.A Fort Wayne, Indiana man, Sanford Johnstown, Ohio (Agnew Welsh, 39). make"mudsills" for the railroad.He was the real founder of Ada, deeding some of his land to the railroad influence over the final design.With its 26'x 76' dimensions, second floor office space and handsome Inventory lists it simply as"Plan CE 3995" in "Vol. 4 -No. 21"with materials used and dimensions. National Register of Historic Places Pennsylvania was unable to find a copy of the original plan for the passenger station, and the 1917 NPS Form 10-900-a small depot and atter the 108/ station was built, the smaller depot was used for freight storage. The railroad Section number - Page 2 CMB Approval No.

1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park Statement of Significance (continued) Ada's development as a college town perhaps helped in the Pennsylvania Railroad's decision to build the help of Ada citizens and opened a Normal School on Main Street about three blocks south of the railroad tracks. By 1887, the campus had two buildings and a student population that had increased from 147 to 2,434. The school eventually became Ohio Northern University with colleges of arts and sciences, In June of 1887, The University Herald (now The Ada Herald) reported a rumor that the Pennsylvania Railroad planned to build a new brick passenger station in Ada similar to many others in small towns along its rail-lines.

They must have altered their plans and by December, 1887, The In June of 1869, Pennsylvania Railroad officials had been granted a 999 year lease to the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad tracks (Jacobs, The History of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 28). This trunk line of the Pennsylvania ran through Ada and was approximately halfway between Pittsburgh and Chicago. The increase in student population using the railroad for transportation and the increased commerce a college town brings were perhaps the reasons the Pennsylvania Railroad decided in 1887 to build a more impressive two-story structure in a rural village like Ada with a population of 1,000. The new passenger station was the source for national news as it came over the wires in the telegraph train to deliver speeches or take part in debates at the university.

On June 3, 1910, President William Howard Taft arrived in his private railway car to give the commencement address at Ohio Northern University. When Frank B. Willis, an Ohio Northern professor, made successful bids for Ohio governor in stopped to give performances at the Ada Whiteside Opera House. Swami Vivekananda from India arrived at the station in 1894 to explain the Hindu Vedanta movement. Perhaps by virtue of their central location in Ada, the station and Railroad park have served as the community's primary public gathering place. Few communities of Ada's size feature a one acre park in such fact the village purchased the lot in 1958 to ensure its continued use as a park. Although physical alterations Page historic configuration, open space, viewsheds and memorial cannon. Entertainers, actors, and speakers from New York and Chicago on their way to Ft.

Wayne often August, October, December issues, 1887). (8-86) Hardin County, OH University Herald announced the two-story wood depot was open to travelers (University Herald, June, 1915 and for U.S. Senator in 1921, he always had his campaign train stop in Ada (Historic Photos 3, 4, 5). business, law, pharmacy, and engineering and celebrated its 125th year in 1997. office. William Jennings Bryan, Warren G. Harding, William B. McKinley, and other politicians came by to the park include a surface parking lot, park benches, and picnic tables and new plantings, it still retains its a new station in 1887.In 1871, Henry S. Lehr, Ada's schoolmaster, built a two-story brick building with close association to their depot. The importance of the park space to the residents of Ada is reflected in the NPS Form 10-900-a NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ada Pensylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park Statement of Significance (continued) Before the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads merged to form Penn-Central in 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad had begun to liquidate some of its holdings. In 1958, it offered Railroad Park to Ada In the following November election, Ada citizens passed a half-mill levy to run for six years so the village could buy the park and the station since both were an integral part of the town. This ensured the station would not be demolished and the park land would not be sold (Miller, Small Town Sampler II, 48-49)In 1971, service clubs and youth organizations replaced the roof, painted the station, and cleaned the interior.

In 1972, station to the Ada Village Council (Miller, Sampler IV, 57-58). commercial functions. Since February of 1997 the passenger station has been vacant except for the second floor model train club. The Ada Area Community Improvement Corp. has served as agent for village-owned property since CIC in 1996 to restore the depot and ask the village's 3,953 citizens and 2,900 university students to help. A New Jersey resident Carl Baughman, the Ada passenger station agent in 1946, with 40 years of experience as a railroadman, researched the roof and paint color of the 1887 passenger station. He reported the original paint records have been destroyed. Following advice from Mr.

Baughman and the curator of the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the new roof is red, and the depot's colors will be Pennsylvania, from an earlier period in the 1996 edition of Janet Potter's Great American Railroad Stations. (Documents III, IV). In a tribute to the station on its 100th birthday in 1987, Ohio Northern University Art Professor John Herald, Dec. 16, 1987). With the aid of The Ada Herald, the weekly newspaper since 1885, and a major fund drive that has exceeded the $50,000 goal, the depot has a new roof, new furnace and cooling system, and a prime coat of paint.

grey with a dark brown trim.This is similar to a restored brick and wood Pennsylvania depot in Lewistown, A 1997 Hardin County, Ohio visitor's brochure describes the Ada passenger station as "one of the for $6,430.The village asked that, after the agent left, the passenger station also be included in the sale.

Hardin County, OH at the peak of their prowess.""Immigrant and first generation craftsmen and their magnificent skills can been Midwest's finest examples of Stick style architecture."A listing and description of the Ada station also appears 1981, and two-thirds of its trustee members are elected officials.It was a joint decision of Ada Council and they leased the second floor to the Ada Model Railroad Club.In 1976,the Historical Society returned the West wrote,"Our depot reflects and embodies the legacy of the shipwright, cabinetmaker, slater, and carpenter The station was used as a polling place for several years, and in the 1980s served a variety of the Hardin County Historical Society was appointed council's agent, and the Society with the help of local (8-86) Page - OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Ada Pennsylvania Railroad Station and Railroad Park Berg, Walter G. Buildings and Structures of American Railroads. New York: John Wiley & Son, 1893. Bohi, Charles W. and Grant, H. Roger. The Country Railroad Station in America. Boulder: Pruett Publishing Company, Ada Herald Division. MacKenzie, John M. and Richards, Jeffrey. The Railway Station. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. Miller, Elizabeth (Betty). Small Town Sampler II. Ada, Ohio: Brown Publishing Company, Ada Herald Division, 1990 Sutton, Jeri and Schively, Pat. Annotated List of Transportation Listings in the National Register: Ohio. 1997, Bibliography Page 384. Company, 1978. Miller. Ada, Ohio: Brown Publishing Company, Ada Herald Division, 1987. unpublished manuscript. Continuation Sheet Jacobs, Timothy. The History of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Greenwich CT: Brompton Books Corp., 1988. Section number National Register of Historic Places Hardin County, OH Potter, Janet Greenstein.Great American Railroad Stations.New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,1996. Rex, F. R.and F. M. Hill.Copy of 1917 PFW&C Inventory "Ada Passenger Station."Original located in Welsh, Agnew.History of the Ada Community (reprint of 1931 series in The Ada Herald.) Edited by Elizabeth Madras. 11-16. Chaudhuri, Asim."Swami Vivekananda in Ada"in The Vedanta Resari Heinfeld,Robert."Speed record set in Ada,1905"in The Ada Herald,(Aug.19,1987). Brown Publishing NPS Form 10-900-a West, John."Ada railroad depot 100years old"in The Ada Herald (Dec.16, 1987).Brown Publishing National Archives, Washington D. C.

NPS Form 10-900-a United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park North property line is common to the South property line and parallel to the center line of the track of the Conrail Railroad right-of-way. Starting at the point of intersection with the West side of the North and South North and South property line of South Main St. Proceeding North 123.3 feet to the South property line of the Conrail Railroad right-of-way, then East 377.2 feet parallel with the South property line of the Conrail Railroad to the point of beginning on the West property line of South Johnson St. inclosing approximately 1.05 acres. Railroad Park and auto-parking area into the historical parcel associated with the Passenger Station.

Hardin County, OH The nominated Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station and Railroad Park property site includes the total memorial right-of-way parallel with the center line of Central Avenue for 377.2 feet to a point on the East edge of the Verbal boundary description Verbal boundary justification OMB Approval No. 10240018 Page _1 property line right-of-way of South Johnson St. proceeding south 117 feet to a point on the North property line (8-86) Section number United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Section number Photos Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station Except for the historic photos from the Ada Public Library "Local Elizabeth Miller 824 S. Johnson St. memorial Civil War canon dedicated in 1903. Photo circa 1905. 6. Ohio Northern University students from College of Engineering Hardin County, OH 7. Ada passenger station with Conrail train. 1987. 8.

Ada station with community restored Pennsylvania caboose. 1994. 1. Ada Pennsylvania passenger station, circa 1900. Photographs Continuation Sheet 2. Ada Pennsylvania passenger station and part of Railroad Park National Register of Historic Places 3. Crowd awaiting arrival of President W. H. Taft in front of Ada depot in 1910. At right, watchman's tower demolished in 1971. 5. Frank B. Willis, professor at Ohio Northern University, giving a waiting to board the train at Ada's station, circa 1920s. Ada, OH 45810 4.President W. H. Taft's Ada arrival in his private car June 3, 1910. lot. 1997. Corp. Contact person for all negatives is: 9.East side of Ada station and part of Railroad Park village parking campaign speech at Ada's Main Street crossing in 1914.Willis was elected Ohio Governor in 1915and Ohio U.S.Senator in1921.

NI'S Form 10-00.a and Elizabeth Miller, trustees of the Ada Community Improvement Jnited States Department of the Interior Vational Park Service Continuation Sheet Section number Photos Page Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station 10.West side of Ada station and part of Railroad Park, taken from Main Street. 1997. outside door to the right leads to the second floor and the former telegraph office, now the headquarters of the Ada Model Railroad decoration detail. Windows shown are stained glass. 1997. 15-16. West side of station with original decorative wood carving 1987. 17. Detail of exposed decorated rafters. 1997. Assoc. The original brick platform and two support posts are also visible. 1997. National Register of Historic Places Photographs (continued) 18. West end of station with door detail to freight storage area. 1997. 12. North canopy shed and door from passenger waiting room.

The 11.North side of passenger station with detail of dormer and original posts for track-side canopy. Freight cart is original to station. 14. South side of station showing decorative wood details.1997. canopy passenger shed roof. 1997. Hardin County, OH 20. Detail of water damage to shed roof trim. 1997. 13. North dormer housing telegraph office with Stick style and 19. West end showing closer detail of triangular curved support under stained glass windows in freight storage area. 1997. 21. Facing east, detail of architectural symmetry of canopy support. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Section numberPhotos Page _3 Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station porcelain steel reflectors. 1997. 24. Closeup of rafter water damage. 1997. molding and a blocked rosette is visible under the painted walls. 1997. 31. Steps leading to the basement from the first floor area.

1997. Photographs (continued) 28. One of the original hanging electric interior lamps. Interior 25. Detail of brick platform on station track-side. 1997. National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 29. Detail of one of the brick fireplaces. A tenant painted the brick the extreme right of the photo leads to the basement. 1997. Hardin County, OH but the decorative use of brick and the slate mantel is evident. window to the left replaced a baggage door in 1983. The two smaller windows in the center are in the restroom area.1997. 27. Interior view taken inside the ticket office looking to the south. 22.Detail of east chimney with its cast red brick scrollwork.1997. door left of the fireplace leads to the storage area. The door in 26. View of south side public entrance to station.Large display 23. Rafter closeup and one of the original outside electric lights with 30.

Looking east to the fireplace on the freight storage wall. The ºs form 10.-900 + Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Station 33. Steps leading to the second floor from the north outside door on second floor. 1997. 36. Detail of window frame on second floor with a square blocked 39. View from north dormer window on second floor looking west Continuation Sheet 41-42. Views of the open rafter storage area on the second floor Hardin County, OH Photographs (continued) to the Main St. crossing. 1997. National Register of Historic Places rosette used as decoration throughout the station. 1997. 34 Top curve of steps leading to second floor, showing hickory wood railing. 1997. 35. Stained glass windows in dormer of former telegraph office on the track-side of the station. 1997. United States Department of the Interior with part of the Ada Model Railroad Assoc.layout.1997. .basement.1997. 32.

A perforated veneer molded wood bench discoved in the ational Park Servici clubroom on second floor of the station. 1997. 37-38.

Ada depot memorabilia on display in Ada Model Railroad Section number Photos Page NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET NAME : DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: NOMINATOR: STATE OTHER : N SLR DRAFT: N ACCEPT ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS: DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N DATE PROPERTY RETURN NATIONAL: MULTIPLE TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE 8/05/98 8/24/98 REVIEWER 7/10/98 RECOM./CRITERIA PDIL: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 45TH DAY: LESS THAN 5O YEARS: Bational Register Bntered in the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Ada Pennsylvania Station and Railroad Park REFERENCE NUMBER: REASONS FOR REVIEW: COMMENT WAIVER: N 98001014 REJECT 7/20/98 REQUEST:N SAMPLE: APPEAL: DATE OF PENDING LIST: ADA, OHIO. P. F. Depot. ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER HARDIN COUNTY, OH HI STATION . R. R.

Depot Park ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 2 HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 4 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION Willis Speech HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSLVVANIA PASSENGER STATION OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY INSPECTION TOUR HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION Keit HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION 477779 PENNSYLVANIA HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH #I HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 12 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH #F 13 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, CH HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 15 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 17 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 18 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 19 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH HARDIN COUNTY, OH STATION ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER ADA PENNSYLVANIA Passenger Station HARDIN COUNTY, OH #22 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 24 HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 25 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 26 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSEnGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION ADA, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 29 HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 30 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION THUR TUE WED SAT FRI ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 31 HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 34 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION This Station is in Charge of_R.B2RACE , Agent THE OFFICE IS OPEN from HOLIDAYS AND calling SATURDAYS MONDAY SUNDAYS Information concerning your transportation will be gladly furnished.

During hours office is closed, information may be secured by STANDARD TIME and fare may be paid on train. CAOSED HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 37 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION * Daily Except Sunday. # Sunday Only DUE TRAIN TIME EASTERN TIME Track WESTWARD PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD SYSTEM WILL ARRIVE Bill's Propos EASTWARD HARDIN COUNTY, OH ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 39 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH YSTONE ERVICE ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 41 KEYSTONE SERVICE MERCHANDISE HARDIN COUNTY, OH # 42 ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATIOIU C DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PASSENGER STATIONAND RAILROAD PARIC ADA, HARDIN CO., OH EASTING 261800 UNITED STATES ADA QUADRANGLE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STATE OF OHIO LTM REFERENCES!

7.5 MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC) DEPARTMENT OP NATURAL RESOURCES RAILROAD PARK A DA, OHIO CENTRAL AVE. MAX 1 3 1959 Dote: 3-13-59 REVISED JAN 1998 BY NJ.

REx Brick PASSENGER SHED DRAWN BY 25-0" × 25-0" WINDOW SCHEDULE VILLAGK Of ADA WN3 G-O"× G-O" THERMO HISTORIC RALRORD DEPOT D6 2'-6"× 8-0" SLIDING-TRANSOM FREIGHT N.J.REX DOOR SCHEDULE RESTROOMS IN SLIDING DOOR RAILROAD TRACK E COUNTER 12-0'× 15-0" PARTITION E DOOR REMOVED D2 3-0"× 8-O" TRANSOM W2 2'-8"×3'0 DH.-2L RAMP 10-29-97 BAGGAGE ROCY ROOm ADA PENNSYLVANIA PASSENGER STATION AND RAILROAD PARK HARDIN COUNTY, OH FROM HARDIN COUNTY KENTON, OH Page 127 LINCOLN AVE CENTRAL RAILROAD CHURCH 109 180 1'=100' 2 SMICKS ADDITION 116.8 103 PENNSYLVANIA 20-21 Ohio Historic Preservation Office 567 East Hudson Street Columbus, Ohio 43211-1030 614/ 297-2470 Fax: 614/ 297-2496 Visit us at www.ohiohistory.org/resource/histpres/ June 22, 1998 SINCE 1885 Ms.

Carol Shull, Chief of Registration National Park Service National Register, History and Education Programs Mail Stop 2280, Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20240 Enclosed is one new National Register nomination for the Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Depot and Railroad Park, Ada, Hardin County, Ohio. All appropriate notification procedures have been followed for this new nomination. During the review of this nomination by the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board one of the Board members questioned why the Railroad Park was treated as a contributing resource. As presented the nomination treats Railroad Park as a "site" because the form preparers believe it contributes to the significance of the property. The park was present during most of the period of significance (ca.

1902-1948), and although altered, retains its historic configuration, retains it symbolic function as the village's primary public gathering place. The Board member's chief concern is the park no longer retains its historic integrity and rather than be treated as a contributing site it should be listed as a non-contributing site. The chief reasons for her concern include the paved parking lot, new park benches and new landscaping. SOCIETY OHIO HISTORICAL open space and viewshed of the surrounding commercial buildings, moreover, the park still Dear Ms. Shull: 1849 C Street, N.W. Based on the comments made by the Board member, a landscape architect and a member of the ASLA, I am requesting a substantive review of this nomination in order to receive the full benefit of the National Register reviewer's expertise.

State Historic Preservation Officer Enc: Ada Pennsylvania Passenger Depot and Railroad Park Sincerely, AJL/SCG/kjj