Photograph of William Seher House — Photograph by N8hawk, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Seher, William, House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. 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

“Jedediah, second son of Captain Samuel, was born at Westbrook, October 9, 1703. He married Miss Hester Kirkland June 5, 1723, and there were eight children.”
A Standard History of Lorain County Ohio (1916). Machine-read text.

one of 113 National Register listings in Lorain County · listed in 1976 · category: Building · one of 2 National Historic Landmarks in Lorain 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 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 329 W. 9th St., Lorain, 44052
When was it listed? 1976-06-17
Category. building
Township. Lorain city
Architectural style. Colonial Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 76001470 - 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 Lorain city, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879 - Lorain City

Game

Game of the smaller kinds was very abundant before the hunters became too numerous. It cannot be positively stated that any old bears were killed in the township after the settlement was begun; but there is a vague tradition to the effect that Solomon Root and Joseph Ross once found two in a whitewood tree in the southwest part of the town, and killed them.

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

1,223,411 words

The chapter on Lorain City in History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879 names Lorain. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Hitherto the publishers have had their county histories published in Philadelphia, by J. B. LiPPiNCOTT & Co., but this volume is from the press of the Leader Printing Company, Cleveland, who have done themselves credit by the high degree of typographical excellence shown in the printing of this book. Every inhabitant of the Western Reseiwe has cause for congratulation in the fact, - of which this Histoi-y of Lorain County is proof, - that Cleveland is al)le to maintain successful rivalry with Philadelphia, New York and Boston, in the publication of books whose beauty of typography is of the highest standard attained by the " art preservative."

Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.

The Western Reserve of Connecticut lies l)etwecn the panillels of 11'" and 12° 2' of north latitude, commencing with the western boundary line of Pennsylvania, and extending thence one hundred and twenty miles westward. The entire tract embraces an area of seven thousand four hundred and forty square miles, nearly one-third of which is water. If the whole were land, there would be four million seven hundred and sixty-one thousand six hundred acres. It is composed of the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull, Portage, Geauga, Lake, Cu3'ahoga, Medina, Lorain, Huron, Erie, Summit (except the townships of Franklin and Green), the two northern tiers of townships in Mahoning, the townships of Sullivan, Troy, and Ruggles, in Ashland, and several islands lying north of Sandusky, including Kelly's and Put-in-Bay. This is the land portion of the Reserve. The portion consisting of water lies between the southern shore of Lake Erie and the forty-second degree of north latitude, and is bounded on the east and west by the same parallels of longitude that form the east and west boundaries of the land ])ortion.

Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.

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 Lorain City - 1,223,411 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,097 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,097 specimens collected within 10 miles of Seher, William, House between 1853 and 1975: 686 Animalia, 332 Fungi, 69 Plantae, 6 Unrecorded, 4 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. A. Wright, A. E. Ricksecker 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Coniophora byssoides (Pers.) P.Karst.	1896	F. D. Kelsey	Oberlin.
Gloeophyllum trabeum (Pers.) Murrill	1899	A. A. Wright	Oberlin.
Stereum fasciatum (Schwein.) Fr.	1899	A. E. Ricksecker	N. of Oberlin
Ammocrypta pellucida (Putnam, 1863)	1853	Baird, Spencer Fullerton	Black River, below falls at Elyria, Ohio
Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque, 1819	1853	S. Baird	Black River Elgria Ohio (above falls)
Etheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845	1853	S. Baird	Elyria, Ohio
Etheostoma maculatum Kirtland, 1840	1853	S. Baird	Elyria, Ohio
Aecidium nesaeae W.R.Gerard	1894	Kelsey, F.D.	Lorain County, Ohio
Ammodramus savannarum pratensis (Vieillot, 1818)	1894	Jones, L. (Lynds)	Oberlin Field W of Athletic Park, Lorain, Ohio, USA
Aulacomnium palustre (Hedw.) Schwägr.	1894	F. D. Kelsey
Carpodacus purpureus purpureus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)	1894	Jones, L. (Lynds)	Morgan's Woods, NW Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA
Catharus ustulatus (Nuttall, 1840)	1894	Jones, L. (Lynds)	Morgan's Woods, NW Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA

All 1,097 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 Seher, William, House: 3 past producers, 3 producers, 1 plant. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Gypsum-Anhydrite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Lorain Plant-National Gypsum	Gypsum-Anhydrite	Plant
Lorain Plant - Marathon Steel	Iron	Producer
Lorain Plant - U.S. Steel	Iron	Producer
Lorain Elyria Sand Company, Inc Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Lorain Elyria Sand Company, Inc Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Loraine Loading Dock	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
National Sand & Gravel Co Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Lorain County

Storms near this property

60 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lorain, the town this property stands in, in 60 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 35 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 10 flash flood, 2 waterspout. The reports record 2 deaths. 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2005	Flash Flood	Lorain	2 killed, $1,200,000	Thunderstorms dumped very heavy rains on the City of Lorain. The heaviest rains fell on the northeastern quadrant of the city where extensive flash flooding occurred. As much as three inches of rain fell between 3 and 4:30 pm as thunderstorms trained over the same small area. An elderly couple was killed around 4:15 pm after they drove their automobile into a flooded underpass on State Route 611 (Henderson Road) just a couple blocks east of State Route 57 (Broadway). The underpass filled with more than 12 feet of water in just a few minutes. Efforts to rescue the couple were unsuccessful. An automated rain gage just south of the underpass recorded 2.56 inches of rain between 3 and 4 pm and a total of 2.76 inches by 4:30 pm. A second underpass on State Route 57 (East 28th Street) was flooded by as much as ten feet of water. Much of Broadway Road was reported to be flowing "like a river" during the peak of the storm. Severe flooding was reported on most of the major thoroughfares in the northeastern portion of Lorain including Elyria Road, North Ridge Road, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Oberlin Avenue. Flood waters on Elyria Road were as much as six feet deep with two to three feet of flowing water reported at other locations. Dozens of vehicles became stranded in the flood waters and rescue efforts were severely hampered by the widespread nature of the flooding. Industrial areas south and west of the Black River were inundated by flood waters. Damage to homes and business in the City of Lorain and Sheffield Township from both flash flooding and basement flooding was extensive. At least 14 families were displaced by flooding. At least five City of Lorain police cars were destroyed by flooding. Flooding also was reported along Beaver Creek on the west side of Lorain. The creek left it's bank and damaged several homes.
November 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,400,000	Thunderstorm winds well in excess of 60 mph caused extensive damage in the City of Lorain and Sheffield Lake. A school in Sheffield Lake lost a large section of roof and suffered extensive water damage. 46 homes in the area were damaged by the strong winds, flying debris and fallen trees. Of this total, eight homes were beyond repair and classified as being destroyed. Several homes in Lorain and surrounding areas were also damaged by fallen trees. Hundreds of trees were downed in the county.
August 2007	Flash Flood	Lorain	$1,500,000	Heavy rain developed across the county during the morning hours of the 7th, and flash flooding quickly developed across northern portions of Lorain County. In the City of Lorain, one report described a man driving down East 28th Street and quickly turning around to avoid becoming stranded in the high water. Shortly after he turned around, he saw cars that continued down the street begin to float in the high water. Floodwaters quickly affected other streets throughout the City of Lorain with numerous reports of stranded cars and vehicle rescues. With conditions deteriorating, roads and underpasses throughout the city were closed. Heavy rainfall also caused flooding of a nursing home and damage to at least forty homes. \|\|In Sheffield Township several rescues were performed on people stranded in the quickly rising waters. Newspaper articles indicate that flooding of buildings also took place in Avon and Vermilion.\|\|Rainfall reports in Lorain County include 1.66 inches at the Lorain-Elyria Airport and 3.77 inches in Sheffield Lake.
September 2005	Flash Flood	Lorain	$1,100,000	no account filed
October 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$300,000	A 68 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured in Avon Lake. Thunderstorm winds downed dozens of trees in Lorain and Avon Lake. A large tree fell on a house in Avon Lake and caused unrepairable structural damage. The house and its contents were a total loss. An adjacent garage was also blown down and destroyed.
June 2014	Flash Flood	Lorain	$120,000	Heavy rainfall around 2 to 4 inches fell over Lorain County on the evening of June 25th. The first round of showers began from 3 to 5 p.m. and was the heaviest from 7 to 9 p.m. The highest amount measured was 3.72 inches in Elyria. This resulted in significant flooding to the area with numerous homes inundated. In Elyria about 8:55 p.m., a manhole cover popped off on Gulf Road, leaving a hole big enough for a submarine, a dispatchers transmission said. At 9:20 p.m., state Route 57 north between state Route 254 and Schadden Road in Elyria was blocked off, said police Lt. Lee Frank. Martin's Run Creek in Lorain caused flooding of several streets between West 35th Street and Oberlin Avenue. The Oberlin Police Department confirmed there were areas of flooding all throughout the city of Oberlin. Oberlin streets were blocked in many areas because of high water, including Prospect Street, North Main Street and South Professor Street.
June 2011	Hail	Lorain	$100,000	Nickel to golf ball sized hail was observed. Many vehicles were damaged by the hail.
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$75,000	A line of thunderstorms moved off of Lake Erie and caused damage from Lorain east along the lake shore to Sheffield Lake. Many trees were down, including some on houses. Power outages were reported across the area. Wind gusts were estimated to be at least 60 mph.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$50,000	Trees and power lines were downed. One large limb fell on a house. Wind gusts were estimated at 60 miles per hour.
September 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$50,000	Trees and large limbs were downed, some on power lines. At least one home was damaged by a fallen tree.
March 1998	Storm Surge/Tide	Lorain	$50,000	no account filed
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$35,000	Thunderstorm winds toppled a large tree on top of two cars. One car was destroyed, the second heavily damaged.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$25,000	Three power poles were reported down, and wires were in the road. Also, a large limb was reported down.
April 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$20,000	Large tree downed onto a house in Lorain. Visible damage to house.
October 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$20,000	Around a dozen trees were downed in and around Lorain. One tree landed on the roof of a house in Lorain and caused some damage.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$15,000	A 61 mph wind gust was measured in Lorain and many trees were knocked down in Amherst and Lorain.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree in the City of Lorain. The tree landed on a parked car causing considerable damage.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed at least three trees and several large limbs.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Several trees were reported down from the City of Lorain to Grafton. A tree was also reported down in Lagrange Township.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Several large trees and power lines were reported down.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.
July 1998	Flash Flood	Lorain	$10,000	Heavy thunderstorm rain caused flooding of many roads.
October 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a couple trees near the intersection of State Route 57 and East 36th Street. One of the trees blocked a portion of State Route 57.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	A wind gust of 65 mph was measured by a trained spotter. Also, trees and large limbs were reported down from the thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2002	Hail	Lorain	$5,000	Dime size hail was reported three miles east of Lorain.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	Trees and power lines were downed.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs which blocked roads.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$3,000	Several trees and large limbs were reported down in Lakeview Park in Lorain.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$3,000	Two trees were reported down in Lorain and Avon Lake.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	South Lorain	$2,000	Gazebo was damaged in the 1800 block of East 33rd Street of Lorain. Numerous trees were downed in the same area.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed numerous large tree branches in the area.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs.
August 2005	Hail	Lorain	$2,000	Nickel size hail was observed.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed two large tree limbs.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	South Lorain	-	About 25 trees downed in and near Oakwood Park in Lorain.
August 2023	Hail	Lorain	-	Hail up to quarter-size in Lorain.
June 2022	Hail	South Lorain	-	Hail up to nickel-size at Elyria Avenue and North Ridge Road in Elyria.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	Utility pole snapped in Lorain.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	Numerous trees and power poles down in Lorain and two miles north of Lorain. Time estimated via radar.
May 2014	Hail	Lorain	-	Penny sized hail was observed.
July 2011	Hail	Lorain	-	Nickel sized was reported.
August 2011	Hail	Lorain	-	Penny sized hail was observed.
May 2011	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Multiple thunderstorms move over Lorain County between the 25th and 26th of May. The storms on the 25th saturated the ground, allowing for rapid runoff from storms on the 26th. A storm moved over Lorain County late on the 26th with rainfall rates over an inch per hour. Numerous roads were flooded and several were closed. In the hardest hit city of Lorain there was waist deep flooding in Gulf Street and Ohio Street near the elementary school.
May 2011	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Lorain County experienced their third straight day of flooding on the 14th. Storms brought around an inch of additional rainfall, but this in addition to already swollen streams and saturated ground cover was enough to trigger additional flooding. Several creeks came out of their banks and water was running across several roads. The speed that the water rose caught motorists by surprise as many cars stalled in high water.
May 2010	Hail	Lorain	-	Penny sized hail was observed.
August 2001	Waterspout	Lorain	-	A large waterspout was observed on Lake Erie approximately four miles offshore of Lorain. No damage occurred.
September 2001	Waterspout	Lorain	-	Three waterspouts were observed on Lake Erie just northeast of Lorain. No damage occurred.
October 1999	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Thunderstorms dumped 1.6 inches of rain on the City of Lorain in less than one hour. Over a foot of standing water was reported on many streets and East 28th Street had to be closed for a period of time. Other streets with flooding included Popular, Olive, Oakdale and West 17th.
August 1997	Tornado (F0)	Lorain	-	A tornado briefly touched down near the intersection of Leavitt and Skyline Roads one mile south of Lake Erie. No damage was reported.
August 1997	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Heavy thunderstorm rain caused flooding of roads, underpasses and low lying areas. Some roads were impassable and closed to traffic.
September 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	no account filed
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	no account filed
July 1999	Hail	Lorain	-	no account filed
January 1998	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	no account filed
May 1998	Hail	Lorain	-	no account filed
November 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lorain 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.

From the nomination file

2,009 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

Generically the design belongs to the Georgian Revival, but it incorpor- small semi-circular bay, unsymmetrically placed to the north. By of red brick and stone trim are used, and the quoin treatment continued. But the window lintels are simple horizontal slabs, and CONDITION MOVED DESCRIPTION UNEXPOSED UNALTERED DETERIORATED FAIR RUINS in shape. CHECK ONE partly as a motion picture processing laboratory.
This is a two-story eclectic mansion of masonry construction the fenestration is irregular according to interior function rather than However, the main feature of the facade is an arched gallery design but only two wide bays.The original stone balustrades have been stone frieze, the eaves are rather meagre in proportion and display have stone quoins.On the second story there is a vaguely Palladian replaced with metal railings.Both porches are reached by stone steps have transoms and are framed by dropped architraves.Above a has a curved Baroque pediment, and two smaller dormers are arched a small pediment.
The east elevation has a second porch of identical the side ones wider semi-elliptical ones.The corner piers are rust- The former residence is now used partly as a residence and this elevation, and behind that a small one-story wing. mutule brackets.The roof isa steep hip of tile.A central dormer of stone. It has three bays, the center one narrower and round-arched, icated, and the center bay is framed by two Tuscan columns supporting with curving solid stone railings.On the west elevation there isa DATE.
classical symmetry.There is a shallow two-story projection on rectangular frontispiece.This bay and also the corners of the house rigorously symmetrical.At the center there is a slightly projecting window with a semi-elliptical head.The flanking rectangular windows contrast, the rear (south) elevation is very plain. The same materials ates elements from the English Baroque style.The north facade is AREAS OF

Statement of significance

in a larger city, it is probably the best of its kind in Lorain, Ohio. the son of German parents. He was educated in Sandusky and worked 1909 design. 1800-1899 1700-1799 ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC EDUCATION ECONOMICS RELIGION ART PERIOD LAW EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT BUILDER/ARCHITECT AGRICULTURE PHILOSOPHY POLITICS/GOVERNMENT SIGNIFICANCE SCULPTURE PREHISTORIC _COMMUNICATIONS THEATER ENGINEERING 1900- INDUSTRY MUSIC LITERATURE MILITARY the primary significance of Mr.Seher's house is its architectural _TRANSPORTATION This is partly due to the fact that the major portion of the older section reflects the status of a particular economic class.
which are so standardized as to seem to have come from a general refer- _CONSERVATION This is an especially fine example of Twentieth century eclectic and his has been a dominating force in the furtherance of enterprises raphy, Seher is described in one of those typical late Victorian encomiums that have contributed much to the commercial precedence of the city, Company, president of the Lorain Crystal Ice Company and a director architecture in its location.While the house might be less remarkable Company until the organization of the Lorain Gompany.In a 1916 biog- fora Sandusky ice company and as a street railway motorman.In in l9o9 by a well-known and successful businessman in the city, and -1500-1599 -COMMERCE -1400-1499 William Seher was general manager of the Lorain Brewing _INVENTION of the city was obliterated by the tornado of 1924.The house was built of the National Bank of Commerce.He was born in Sandusky in 1868, _COMMUNITY PLANNING ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC ence file:Mr.Seher has been a prominent and representative figure in indicate the best ideals of citizenship.This tribute notwithstanding, the while he has shown the loyalty and progressive spirit that ever connection with the industrial and civic activites of the City of Lorain, 1895 he became the Lorain agent for the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing

The whole case file for this property - 2,009 words, 15 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 76001470, 15 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.

Property	Distance	Listed
Lorain Carnegie Public Library	under 500 feet	2023
American Felsol Company Building	0.1 miles	2011
U.S. Post Office	0.2 miles	1982
Gould Block	0.3 miles	2005
Palace Theatre Building	0.3 miles	1978
Eagles Building	0.3 miles	1986

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 76001470 in Record Group 79.
Lorain County	All 113 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.
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.