BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: an ornate nineteenth-century American house. Not a photograph of this place.

Black, Joseph, Farmhouse

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“Seeing the need of more land, be bought eight3-five acres near Hayesville, and also improved sixty-eight and one-half acres in South Pickaway County. He has a fine farm, has it well improved, and is one of the substantial and prosperous men of the county.”

Portrait and Biographical Record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison Counties, Ohio : Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Together with Biographies and Portraits of All the Presidents of the United States (1892). Machine-read text.

one of 20 National Register listings in Pickaway County · listed in 1982 · category: Building.

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • Address. 9862 Heffner Rd., Circleville, 43113
  • When was it listed? 1982-08-09
  • Category. building
  • Township. Pickaway township
  • National Register reference number. 02001459 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Pickaway township, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From PICKAWAY COUNTY, OHIO HISTORY AND FAMILIES, published 1810 - Pickaway Township

William Henry Harrison

the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of these was called Tecumseh, or " The Crouching Panther;" the other, OlHwacheca, or "The Prophet." Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomitable perseverance in any enterprise m which he might engage.

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

776,435 words

The chapter on Pickaway Township in PICKAWAY COUNTY, OHIO HISTORY AND FAMILIES, published 1810 names Circleville. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

The gold stamped picture on the front cover of this book was of the first Pickaway County Court House built about 1812. The Court House was an octagonal shaped building and stood directly in the center of Circleville. This picture was created from a pen and ink drawing done by Lissa Yaple, a local artist.

Passage source: PICKAWAY COUNTY, OHIO HISTORY AND FAMILIES, published 1810.

B. Logan's cabin at Old Chillicothe, now Westfall, four miles below Circleville: from. this place a trail led through Grenadier Squaw town, and from thence up the Congo valley, and crossed to the opposite side of the creek, about 1.5 miles from its mouth.

Passage source: PICKAWAY COUNTY, OHIO HISTORY AND FAMILIES, published 1810.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Pickaway Township - 776,435 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

2 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Black, Joseph, Farmhouse between 2007 and 2007, burning about 5 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
21 April 2007Debris and open burning5.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 October 2007Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Pickaway County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 941 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 941 specimens collected within 10 miles of Black, Joseph, Farmhouse between 1845 and 1975: 847 Animalia, 87 Plantae, 6 Fungi, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Adams, W.; Bartley, F., Andy White., Arden R. Gaufin and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
A photograph of the species Symphyotrichum dumosum, not of this specimenSymphyotrichum dumosum (L.) G.L.Nesom1845L. L. Pontius3 mi E of Kingston.
A photograph of the species Caprimulgus vociferus, not of this specimenCaprimulgus vociferus vociferus A.Wilson, 18121876Jones, H. (Howard)Darby Creek, Circleville, Pickaway, Ohio, USA
A photograph of the species Cardinalis cardinalis, not of this specimenCardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758)1880Mearns, E.A.Circleville near Scioto River.
A photograph of the species Empidonax virescens, not of this specimenEmpidonax virescens (Vieillot, 1818)1880Jones, H. (Howard)Niles Woods, near Circleville, Pickaway Co., Ohio
A photograph of the species Pituophis melanoleucus, not of this specimenPituophis melanoleucus (Daudin, 1803)1882not recordedCircleville
A photograph of the species Colaptes auratus, not of this specimenColaptes auratus luteus Bangs, 18981898not recordedCircleville
A photograph of the species Agelaius phoeniceus, not of this specimenAgelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766)1906Bales, B. R.Darby Creek, Circleville, Pickaway, Ohio, USA
A photograph of the species Dendroica petechia, not of this specimenDendroica petechia aestiva (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)1906B.R. BalesCircleville
Phasianus colchicus colchicus Linnaeus, 17581907B.R. BalesCircleville
A photograph of the species Rallus elegans, not of this specimenRallus elegans Audubon, 18341907B.R. BalesCircleville, near
Setophaga petechia (Linnaeus, 1766)1907B. R. BalesNear Circleville
A photograph of the species Ardea herodias, not of this specimenArdea herodias herodias Linnaeus, 17581908not recordedCircleville

All 941 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms near this property

60 of 75 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Circleville, the town this property stands in, in 75 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 29 thunderstorm wind, 21 hail, 14 flood, 7 flash flood. The reports record 7 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 1999Tornado (F3)Circleville6 hurt, $4,000,000A tornado touched down west of Circleville, pulling a small shed off of its foundation and destroying a section of a construction building. after this, the tornado lifted and then touched down in a more developed area in town. It destroyed a building housing two businesses and ripped the roof off of a section of a strip mall, ejecting furniture from inside the structure. A large sign weighing several hundred pounds was ripped from its foundation and blown twenty feet away. A tractor trailer with a load of 18 to 19 tons was blown over and dragged ten feet away from where it landed. The tornado then proceeded to a housing development where several homes were destroyed, several roofs ripped off, and garages either destroyed or moved from their foundations. Trees were twisted and broken off at their bases and carports were also torn from nearby houses.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindCircleville1 hurt, $9,000A tree fell onto a vehicle along Northridge Road near Nicholas Road. One serious injury was reported.
August 2006Tornado (F0)Circleville$250,000A tornado touched down along State Route 361, causing damage to three buildings at the Pickaway Machine and Fabricating Company. Portions of the aluminum roofing and insulation were removed from these three buildings, and deposited throughout the complex and in a cornfield across Route 361. Corn stalks at six to eight feet in height were knocked over in a 150 foot wide swath across this cornfield, extending for a mile to the northeast to Boggs Road. Across Boggs Road, minor tree and limb damage occurred, with part of an open air aluminum shed being blown into a nearby tree line.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindCircleville$75,000A building collapsed and trees were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Circleville$50,000A small tornado moved across the south side of Circleville producing minor structural and roof damage to a few buildings, and some damage to nine cars at a dealership. Numerous trees and power lines were also knocked down.
May 2001LightningCircleville$50,000Significant damage to a house caused by a lightning strike.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindCircleville$20,000Trees were uprooted, a barn was moved off its foundation, and power lines were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2025Flash FloodCircleville$15,000Water was rushing over Pontious Lane. Several vehicles were inundated by the water.
June 2008HailCircleville$15,000no account filed
June 2025Flash FloodCircleville$10,000Water was rushing over the 2000 block of North Court Street and a portion of the road was washed away.
September 2019Thunderstorm WindCircleville$10,000A few trees were downed onto some houses and a few power lines were also downed.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindCircleville$10,000Multiple trees were knocked down over a road. In addition, a tree fell onto a house.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindCircleville$10,000Trees downed.
June 2008HailCircleville$8,000no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCircleville$6,000A shed was blown over and several large limbs were down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
November 2020Thunderstorm WindCircleville$5,000Several trees were downed throughout Washington Township east of Circleville.
January 2000Flash FloodCircleville$5,000Heavy rainfall caused some streets to be flooded in Circleville.
September 2000Thunderstorm WindCircleville$5,000Trees knocked down by thunderstorm winds.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindCircleville$5,000Trees were downed. Four head of cattle were killed at the Oscar Waller Farm from being struck by lightning as they took shelter under a tree.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCircleville$4,000A few large trees were downed on Nicholas Drive.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCircleville$4,000Trees and power lines were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000A few trees were downed.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000Several trees were downed across the Circleville area.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000A large tree was downed on a house on Half Avenue due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000Trees were knocked down.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000A few trees and limbs were downed in town.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000Trees and large limbs were downed in town.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000Trees and large limbs were downed.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindCircleville$3,000Trees were knocked down on the west and east side of Circleville.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindCircleville$2,000A barn and a home both sustained minor siding damage.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindCircleville$2,000Multiple large tree limbs were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindCircleville$2,000Several trees were reported down across the county.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindCircleville$2,000One tree and several large limbs were downed.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindCircleville$2,000Two trees were knocked down near town.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindCircleville$2,000A tree and several large limbs were blown down on Island Road.
November 2007HailCircleville$2,000no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindCircleville$2,000no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCircleville$1,000A tree was downed along Oakland Terrace.
July 2007HailCircleville$1,000no account filed
August 2019Thunderstorm WindCircleville$250A small limb was knocked down in Circleville.
June 2025FloodCircleville-High water was reported on several roads in Circleville.
July 2025Flash FloodCircleville-Watt Street was reported to have water flowing across it.
July 2025FloodCircleville-Island Road was closed due to high standing water.
July 2025FloodCircleville-High water was reported over Edwards Road.
July 2025FloodCircleville-A portion of the Kroger Parking lot flooded along Hargus Creek.
February 2022FloodCircleville-Island Road was closed due to high water.
May 2020FloodCircleville-Water rising out of Hominy Creek limited access to a few homes off of East Main Street in Circleville.
February 2019FloodCircleville-Several roads were closed due to flooding.
February 2019FloodCircleville-Several roads remained closed due to flooding.
June 2019FloodCircleville-A portion of North Court Street was closed due to high water.
June 2019FloodCircleville-Numerous roads were closed due to flooding.
April 2018FloodCircleville-High water was reported at multiple locations throughout Pickaway County.
August 2018FloodCircleville-High water was reported on State Routes 138 and 104.
June 2018FloodCircleville-Water was reported over two roads.
June 2018FloodCircleville-A few inches of standing water was reported on Island Road.
June 2009HailCircleville-Hail from three quarters of an inch to an inch in diameter was reported. Several trees were also downed and shingles were torn off of a roof.
July 2006Flash FloodCircleville-Island Road was flooded and closed.
May 2004Flash FloodCircleville-Numerous roads were flooded.
July 2002Flash FloodCircleville-Morris Road was closed for a period of time due to high water.
April 2024HailCircleville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pickaway County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Named in the fire insurance atlases

Sanborn surveyors printed an index of the town's establishments at the front of each atlas. This property is named in one, read straight off the scanned sheet.

From the nomination file

2,693 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Description of the property

7. Description porch are supported by unusually large stone columns of very simple detail.An ornamental iron railing stretches between the house walls and the pillars. covered in the metal standing seam roofing(1969).There are2internal end chimneys Check one to replace all window openings with 9/6 style.Plain sand stone lentils and plain - original site with beautiful wood railing. Other details include random plank hardwood floors, stone lug sills adorn the openings.Right at the rooflineof the building is decorative porch and steps approach the entrance.The wooden boxed cornice and roof over the door is flanked by sidelights and topped with a multi-paned transom.

A limestone construction).There are 3 early 9/6 light double hung windows remaining in the The central main entrance is surrounded in stone.The paneled single walnut An enclosed back porch was added to the northeast side of the house at a later The Joseph Black Farm house is a two-story L-shaped 5 bay X 3 bay vernacular 8.

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) porch in the vicinity similar to this property's was recently demolished. The attractive scalloped corbeling under the cornice and refined interior details.The -economics outstanding because cf the unusual amount of original interior fabric remaining in house is of a traditional design for rural architecture in Ohio at this time and is records indicate the entire structure was completed by 1840.Although Joseph later relocated in Fairfield County establishing himself in the cattle business there, the -art - archeology-prehistoric - community planning - science proportions of the house appear a bit odd, however physical evidence indicates that plans were laid for a large brick dwelling and outbuildings by 1818.

It is believed of much of Pickaway County's metropolis, including the first courthouse. It is likely Having come from Pennsylvania in 1811, Joseph Black purchased this land in 1814 and The Joseph Black farmhouse is significant among rural architecture in the he assisted Joseph in building this fine house which sits up on a knoll and is shaded the house was originally constructed this way.

The whole case file for this property - 2,693 words, 21 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 02001459, 21 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Bellevue3.5 miles1976
Mount Oval6.3 miles1974
Watt-Groce-Fickhardt House7.6 miles1985
Circleville High School7.6 miles2015
McCrea, Matthew, House7.7 miles1988
Morris House7.8 miles1979

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 02001459 in Record Group 79.
Pickaway CountyAll 20 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.