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Photograph of Wilcox-Mills House
Photograph by Bwsmith84 at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Wilcox-Mills House

Built in 1822 in the Federal architecture. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. 17 historic map sheets show this location, the earliest from 1904.

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From the record

“Eighty-seventh regiment, company A, private, served four months, mustered out Septem- Ijer, 1862 ; re-enlistment, volunteer. One Hundred and Forty-eighth regiment, company A. corporal, served four months, mustered out 1864, also member of the independent company in Marietta,”

History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens (1902). Machine-read text.

one of 39 National Register listings in Washington County · listed in 1973 · category: BUILDING · significant for ARCHITECTURE · built in 1822, Federal architecture · one of 1 National Historic Landmarks in Washington County.

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

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 2 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 301 5th St., Marietta, 45750
  • When was it listed? 1973-04-13
  • Category. BUILDING
  • Area of significance. ARCHITECTURE
  • Acreage. 0.9
  • Also known as. President's House, Marietta College; See Also:Marietta Histor
  • Township. Marietta city
  • When was it built? 1822
  • Architectural style. Federal architecture
  • National Register reference number. 73001550 - 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.

Then and now

1904 to 1994

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 90 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Wilcox-Mills House, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet covering Wilcox-Mills House, surveyed 1904

The ground it stands on

15,123 words

The chapter on Marietta Township in History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, published 1902 names Marietta. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Tenney, George Champion, age 20, volunteer. May. 1862, three months. Eighty-seventh regiment, company A, private, served four months, mustered out Septem- Ijer, 1862 ; re-enlistment, volunteer. May, 1864, one hundred days. One Hundred and Forty-eighth regiment, company A. corporal, served four months, mustered out 1864, also member of the independent company in Marietta,

Passage source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, published 1902.

Darrow, Allen R., age 38, volunteer. May, 1864, one hundred days. One Hundred and Forty-eighth regiment, first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster, served four months, mustered out in September, 1864, one of the original members of the National guards, organized in Marietta in 1863.

Passage source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, published 1902.

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 Marietta Township - 15,123 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

12 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Wilcox-Mills House between 1999 and 2019, burning about 5 acres in total. 2 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 burning6
Equipment and vehicle use2
Natural2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

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
12 August 2002Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresWest Virginia Division of ForestryBURNT HILL RD.
28 July 1999Naturalunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestrySLATE CREEK ROAD
29 April 2001Debris and open burning2.0 acresWest Virginia Division of ForestryDRY RUN RD.
21 April 2003Debris and open burningunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryDRY RUN RD.
2 April 2001Debris and open burningunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryDRY RUN RD.
13 April 2018Naturalunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resources14565
20 March 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryWILLIAMSTOWN PIKE
19 March 2019Debris and open burning1.0 acresWest Virginia Division of Forestry753 HENRIE LANE

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,283 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,283 specimens collected within 10 miles of Wilcox-Mills House between 1853 and 1975: 1,196 Animalia, 54 Fungi, 31 Plantae, 1 Unrecorded, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. D. Selby, A. Drew, A. L. McElhose 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
Specimen of Ustilago avenae (Pers.) Rostr.Ustilago avenae (Pers.) Rostr.1923W.G. StonerMarietta
Specimen of Coleosporium carneum (Bosc) H.S.Jacks.Coleosporium carneum (Bosc) H.S.Jacks.1932C. MayMarietta
Specimen of Thelephora laciniata (Pers.) Pers.Thelephora laciniata (Pers.) Pers.1932L.W.R.J.Nursery, Marietta
A photograph of the species Catostomus commersonii, not of this specimenCatostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1803)1853E. AndrewsMarietta, Ohio
A photograph of the species Actinonaias carinata, not of this specimenActinonaias carinata gibba (C.T.Simpson, 1900)1879W. HoldenOhio River, Near Marietta
A photograph of the species Necturus maculosus, not of this specimenNecturus maculosus (Rafinesque, 1818)1886Georg BaurMarietta
A photograph of the species Icteria virens, not of this specimenIcteria virens (Linnaeus, 1758)1893Shufeldt, R.Marietta
A photograph of the species Progne subis, not of this specimenProgne subis (Linnaeus, 1758)1893Shufeldt, R.Marietta
A photograph of the species Eragrostis hypnoides, not of this specimenEragrostis hypnoides (Lam.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.1896A. D. SelbyRainbow.
A photograph of the species Plasmopara viticola, not of this specimenPlasmopara viticola (Berk. & M.A.Curtis) Berl. & De Toni1896F.L. StevensMarietta
A photograph of the species Cyclonaias kleiniana, not of this specimenCyclonaias kleiniana (I.Lea, 1852)1897Sterki, VictorMarietta
A photograph of the species Cyclonaias pustulosa, not of this specimenCyclonaias pustulosa (I.Lea, 1831)1897Sterki, VictorMarietta

All 1,283 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Wilcox-Mills House: 4 producers, 2 past producers, 1 plant. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Manganese, Chromium, Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
(Facility) Marietta SmelterManganese, ChromiumPlant
Union Carbide/ Marietta, OhioIron, ManganeseProducer
Duckworth QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Stone Co PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Muskingum River Plant No 5 & PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Number 3 Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Union Slag No. 2 Sand & Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this property

60 of 68 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Marietta, the town this property stands in, in 68 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 31 thunderstorm wind, 25 hail, 5 flood, 3 lightning. The reports record 3 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
May 2000Thunderstorm WindMarietta3 hurt, $45,000A double wide mobile home was destroyed after its roof was blown off. The home was located on Warren Township Road 277. Seven people were in the home at the time, 3 were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later released. The National Weather Service survey estimated winds of 60 to 70 mph from the microburst.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindMarietta$750,000Numerous large trees were blown down by strong wind gusts. The wind was associated with a bow echo configuration to the thunderstorms. Wind gusts of around 70 mph likely occurred. Several homes and businesses were hit by fallen trees. Residents described the aftermath in the hardest hit portions of downtown Marietta as looking like a war zone.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindMarietta$500,000Numerous trees and large branches were blown down. One massive tree fell onto a house along Montgomery Street.
June 1996Thunderstorm WindMarietta$200,000no account filed
July 2010Flash FloodMarietta$150,000Rains of 2.5 to 4.5 inches fell in less than 3 hours. The 24 hour rain amount from the cooperative observer at Newport was 4.7 inches. The Marietta cooperative observer had 2.94 inches. Streams such as Long Run and Newell Run flooded and forced a few evacuations. Many residents were stuck in their homes. The Newport fire chief said, We couldn't get to them because they couldn't see the bridges. Basically every direction we went there was rushing water, it looked like a whitewater river.||More urban streams such as Goose Run flooded basements around Marietta.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindMarietta$80,000Thunderstorms moved from east to west crossing the Ohio River from West Virginia. The city of Marietta hauled 130 loads of fallen limbs away over a eight day cleanup period. At least two homes were damaged. A dairy barn was heavily damaged in Warren Township. A tree fell onto a car in Belpre.
June 1996LightningMarietta$50,000no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindMarietta$25,000Trees were blown down in the city.
July 1997LightningMarietta$25,000The chimney and roof to the Headstart Center was damaged. The fallen bricks heavily damaged a car parked below.
March 2011FloodMarietta$25,000no account filed
June 2009Heavy RainMarietta$20,000Downpours associated with severe thunderstorms overwhelmed the city drainage system, causing brief street flooding. Water got into a few basements. The cooperative observer measured 2.6 inches for its 24 hour rain amount, most of which fell within about 2 hours.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindMarietta$20,000Thunderstorms moved from east to west crossing the Ohio River from West Virginia. The city of Marietta hauled 130 loads of fallen limbs away over a eight day cleanup period. At least two homes were damaged. A dairy barn was heavily damaged in Warren Township. A tree fell onto a car in Belpre.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindMarietta$12,000A tree and numerous branches fell onto a house along 2nd Street in Marietta. Extensive damage to the home occurred as a result.
October 2016Thunderstorm WindMarietta$10,000A large tree fell onto a vehicle along Front Street.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindMarietta$10,000Thunderstorm winds blew a large section of roofing material off a rehabilitation center. Power lines were also blown down in town, causing power outages.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindMarietta$10,000Several trees were blown down. The lightning intensity was also intense.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindMarietta$10,000A few structures sustained roof damage.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindMarietta$8,000In Marietta, portions of a roof were blown off of a nearby house.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindMarietta$8,000A microburst lifted a roof off an outbuilding and damaged a greenhouse.
June 2001LightningMarietta$8,000A two car garage on Lancaster Street was struck, damaging the structure and a nearby car.
July 1996Flash FloodMarietta$8,000no account filed
April 2026Thunderstorm WindMarietta$5,000Numerous downed trees were observed in the Marietta area.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindMarietta$5,000Trees and power lines were blown down along Arrends Ridge Road.
March 2015FloodMarietta$5,000Duck Creek and the Little Muskingum River had minor overflow and blocked roads during the day on the 11th.
March 2004Thunderstorm WindMarietta$5,000Trees and power lines were blown down in both cities, plus across Warren Township.
June 1995HailMarietta$5,000Thunderstorms moved from east to west crossing the Ohio River from West Virginia. The city of Marietta hauled 130 loads of fallen limbs away over a eight day cleanup period. At least two homes were damaged. A dairy barn was heavily damaged in Warren Township. A tree fell onto a car in Belpre.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindMarietta$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Marietta and Beverly.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindMarietta$5,000no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindMarietta$5,000no account filed
July 2017Thunderstorm WindMarietta$2,000Multiple large branches were downed by thunderstorms winds. One fell on and damaged a residential fence.
March 2011FloodMarietta$2,000A strong rise on the Little Muskingum River occurred. The crest was over 19 feet at the gauge near Bloomfield. Minor overflow along the usual low spots of Route 26 was the result. A few sections of the road were closed.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindMarietta$2,000Trees fell in scattered locations about the town. Two large umbrellas, used to shelter kids from the sun, were ripped from their tables and blew away at the YMCA.
September 2000Thunderstorm WindMarietta$2,000State Routes 821 and 26 were blocked by fallen trees.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindMarietta$2,000An estimated wind gust of 60 mph knocked down trees.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindMarietta$2,000no account filed
June 1998HailMarietta$2,000no account filed
April 2026Thunderstorm WindMarietta$1,500A tree snapped off and fell onto a fence along Cisler Drive.
January 2020Thunderstorm WindMarietta$1,000Winds blew some shingles off a home near Marietta.
September 2018FloodMarietta$1,000The stream gage on Duck Creek near Whipple showed the creek rose above its 12 foot flood stage late on the 25th. The creek crested at 12.4 feet just before sunrise on the 26th and had returned to its banks by mid morning. This flooded sections of State Routes 26, 145 and 821.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindMarietta$1,000Large branches were broken off.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindMarietta$1,000A few trees were blown down along 6th street.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindMarietta$1,000Tress fell and blocked State Route 821 and County Route 375.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindMarietta$500A single tree was blown down across State Route 339.
April 2026Flash FloodMarietta-High water was observed over the road near 2nd and 3rd Streets in Marietta.
December 2016FloodMarietta-The stream gauge on Duck Creek at Whipple crested just over 12 feet late afternoon on the 18th. Bankfull is 11 feet. Minor flooding occurred along sections of State Routes 26, 146 and 821 in central Washington County.
March 2012HailMarietta-The hail was covering the ground along Interstate 77.
April 2026HailMarietta-no account filed
April 2026HailMarietta-no account filed
April 2026HailMarietta-no account filed
April 2026HailMarietta-no account filed
April 2026HailMarietta-no account filed
April 2026HailMarietta-no account filed
March 2024HailMarietta-no account filed
April 2024HailMarietta-no account filed
April 2015HailMarietta-no account filed
July 2011HailMarietta-no account filed
June 2011HailMarietta-no account filed
June 2011HailMarietta-no account filed
June 2011HailMarietta-no account filed
June 2009HailMarietta-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washington County

Newspapers printed here

8,183 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 1,733 issues, 8,183 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
Marietta Daily Leader1895 to 1906

Maps showing this location

17 sheets

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by geocoding the property's own street address, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

From the nomination file

1,908 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

The President's Home at Marietta College, built about 1822 by Henry Wilcox, is a Federal Style, two-story, gable roofed, brick building. It is three as well as the side porches, were not part of the original building, but the front and side porches were included in the original design, although In the mid-1850's, when Putnam Street was being graded, Col. Mills modified the corner of his property by adding a street wall and a curved Erastus Harte and executed by Count de Grasse Bonney, a Marietta blacksmith. with antiques and period furniture, much of which belonged to the Mills Also located on the property, to the rear of the home, is a fine two- story brick carriage house with gable roof and a central louvered cupola. and there are two round-arched windows, side by side, in the gable.

Alterations to the building include the addition of a greenhouse to the rear of the gable end. JAN 1 8 1973 CONDITION family. Ruins REGISTER NATIONAL In addition, considerable landscaping and formal garden-designing were The corners of the building have brick pilasters.Windows are double-hung bays wide with a full-height, pedimented front portico. The portico, large oval light; the door on the north side entrance has a one-story lintels,above and shutters.

the interior has been renovated to accommodate the requirements of the iron railing at the Putnam Street entrance which was designed by Rufus presidents of Marietta College.The interior has always been furnished elliptical fanlight.The front entrance has a flat-arched stone lintel (Check One) for a bedroom and kitchen.During the century of ownership by the Mills Since 1937,when Marietta College purchased the house from the Mills estate, family(1837-1937) many alterations doubtless were made to the interior. were added by Col.John Mi1ls about 1840.Darby& Phi1lips indicate that - Moved portico.

Read the complete 1,908-word case file.

Statement of significance

The present building stands on the site originally occupied by a small frame house built in 1797 by Dr. William Pitt Putnam (1770-1800) and Henry Pierson Wilcox, in 1821. Probably about the time of Wilcox's marriage in March of_1822, Wilcox had the old frame home removed and out of town into oblivion, leaving his home and financial obligations. (1795-1882) leading banker and businessman, treasurer of Marietta College from 1835 to 1850, and benefactor of the college. After the death of Col. Mills in 1882, the property passed to his sons, by the Mills family, the property was purchased by Marietta College from the Mills estate. Since that time, the home has been remodeled to accommodate the presidents of Marietta College.

house is unique in Marietta and, as originally built, small when surpasses them, however, in refinement and quality of execution.

Commerce Conservation Transportation Science Architecture Engineering Aboriginal Communications REGISTER Literature Theater losophy Military Landscape Agriculture NATIONAL Music itarian Social/Human- Urban Planning Sculpture RECEIVE Invention Political Industry Religion/Phi- The highly refined design of the Wilcox-Mills House and the carriage of whispered rumors about his having used his position as postmaster In 1837 the property and home came into the possession of Col.John Mi1ls John and William Webster Mills.In 1937,after a century of ownership JAN 1 8 1973 SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) 1822 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) his wife, Berthia.

The property was sold to Marietta's eighth postmaster, compared to many of the other outstanding examples of the period. It to extract money from the mails, the "honest but timid" Wilcox slipped

The whole case file for this property - 1,908 words, 14 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 73001550, 14 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
Mound Cemetery Mound0.2 miles1973
First Unitarian Church Of Marietta0.2 miles1973
Cisler Terrace0.2 miles1983
Barker, Col. Joseph, House0.3 miles1978
Erwin Hall, Marietta College0.3 miles1973
Harmar Historic District0.3 miles1974

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 73001550 in Record Group 79.
Washington CountyAll 39 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.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • 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.