Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. 7 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1901.
From the record
“In the early spring of 1839, the death of Stephen Sibley is distinctly remembered. He was seen to leave his work in the yard, and slowly enter the house only a short time before his death was announced.”
History of Lorain County, Ohio (1879). Machine-read text.
One of 121 National Register listings published here for Lorain County · listed in 1978 · category: Building.
National Register reference number.78002107- 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
1901 to 1956
The ground this property stands on, surveyed
55 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are
United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
19011956
The ground it stands on
16,558 words
The chapter on Grafton Township in History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879 names Grafton. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The old-fashioned clock, made fast to the logs, has resumed its forward march, .and with extended hands faithfully nuxrks the passing time, yet moi'C than anything else, constantly reminding of time, and opportunities past, never to return. Only quite recently has its time or speed, its marks of comely face, or perfect form, been questioned; when silently its place of usefulness is yielded, aud in its stead a more beautiful face and form, with gilded hands and nimbler step, is measuring the flight of time. This same old clock, the first ever heard to tick in native land, the first pendulum swung in Grafton township, can now be heard and seen in Elyria this first day of January, 1879. Unlike young America is its slow and even step; its clear yet modest tick sometimes stopping entirely, as if asking "how much longer?" receiving in answer, "be patient, old settler, stand at your post to the last. Truth breaks through your faded face, while your worn and battered hands still point in the right direction."
Log house number second is built where I will settle my eldest brother, Seth C. Ingersoll, with his wife and three little pioneer boys, Ardin, Reuben and Ralph. This was on the lot directly north of my father's, and now owned by Hobart Corning. Seven children were added to their family after coming to Grafton. The first white child born in number four
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. Museums hold 1,349 specimens
collected within 10 miles of Justin Breckenridge House between 1853 and 1975: 664 Animalia, 505 Fungi, 148 Plantae, 15 Protozoa, 13 Chromista, 4 Unrecorded.
12 distinct Species records are shown.
Collected by A. E. Recksecker, A. E. Ricksecker, A. M. Evans 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.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
Grafton, the town this property stands in, in 27 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 13 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 funnel cloud.
The reports record 1 injury. 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.
A tornado with estimated peak winds of 85 mph occurred about three-miles north of Lagrange. This tornado began behind a residence on OH Route 301, where it snapped the tops of several trees, removed the porch roof completely, and removed portions of the home's roof. As the tornado moved southeastward, it caused significant damage to over a dozen trees, including several mature maple trees. One of these trees fell onto a another home, punctured its roof in several places, and damaged multiple vehicles. The tornado crossed OH Route 301 and damaged additional trees before dissipating soon thereafter.
United States Geological Survey topographic
sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then
testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
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
features is the front porch with its fluted, tapered columns and bold cornice. This large front porch, which extends across the entire front of the house, is an unusual feature for a Greek Revival doorway.This doorway features narrow side windows seperated from a paneled door the front and sides of the building are simply executed with sandstone lintéls and sills. They have which terminates at the front.facade. It is accented.by a cornice and parkial returns, but has no attic windows. tended to give all the bricks a rough appearance. an open stairway that has a railing with unusual rectangular tapered spindles.
The natural number of smaller rooms, but was remodeled into a single large room that serves as a combination CONDITION MOVED DATE UNEXPOSED UNALTERED kitchen and family room with high, exposed beamceiling. New bathrooms have been inserted XALTERED To the rear is a long one story wing, also of brick, that has a porch on the west side. The this entrance hall. They are finished with simple, massive wood moldings around the doors and main portion of the house has its original slate roof, but this wing has an asphalt shingle roof. by two pilasters, all of which are crowned by a detailed entablature. The window openings on house's original owner and date of construction.
Two parlors lie to the the north and east of It is also finished off in slightly rougher brick, although recent sand blasting of the brick has century, a pig barn, and a small brick smokehouse. The house is located on a large rural lot The Breckenridge House is a two story brick Greek Revival building.Among its prominemt woodwork has all been exposed in this hallway.
relate to specialized farm activities, such as food storage, pig raising, and milk production. At nine acres of land:Over a period of about five years the house was rehabilitated.This house the window sash and even a sizeable number of the original panes, and woodwork. Isaac Van Deusen's ownership, the house was destroyed by fire. The farm was then sold to Justin _ECONOMICS least one of the buildings is contemporary with the house, as it is made of the same bricks, but all -PHILOSOPHY LITERATURE -RELIGION Stephen Silbey was the first settler on this parcel of land, but he died suddenly and mysteriously -MUSIC LAW
Quoted from the National Register nomination
for reference 78002107, 16 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.
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.
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.
Block
