BlockFrom the record
One of 121 National Register listings published here for Lorain County · listed in 1979 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Walter Nichols House
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. 7 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1901.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
- Listed as. Nichols, Walter, House - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
- Address. SE corner of 4th St. and West Ave., Elyria, 44035
- When was it listed? 1979-08-13
- Category. building
- Also known as. Elyria MRA
- City. Elyria city
- National Register reference number. 79002733 - 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 1956The 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.
The ground it stands on
53,016 wordsThe chapter on Elyria City in History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879 names Elyria. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
This township was named for its iirincipal projnietor, the late Hon. Heman Ely. It originally eniliraced the territory now contained in Carlisle, number five, and Elyria, number six in range number seventeen, of the Connecticut Western Reserve. It is situated on and between both branches of Black river, in north latitude forty-one degrees and fortytive minutes It is twenty-four miles west of Cleveland, and eight miles above the mouth of the river.
Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.
Below the village, the banks of the river are generally high and rugged, though there are several fine farms of alluvial bottom lands, which are easy to till and very productive. The sandstone termimxtes and tlie Huron shale crops out along the river bank aljout two miles below the village. On the east side of the river there are several small streams running at right angles with it, and discharging themselves into tlie main stream. These have worn deep ravines in the soil, and extend a mile or more back from the river, but the roads are graded and the streams bridged so that they are quite passable. Running parallel with the lake are two, and in some places three or more ridges, composed of sandy loam, and in some places gravel. The first is about four miles from Lake Erie and is called the North Ridge. The second passes through Elyria, and extends east through all the northern counties of the Western Reserve. They were formed by a subsidence of the lake at some remote period of the world's history ; but after the growth of timber, as large trees are found, in digging wells, twenty feet or more below the surface. These ridges make excellent roads, and the soil is warm and productive, well adapted to fruit growing and early gardens.
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 Elyria City - 53,016 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Specimens collected near this property
12 of 2,104 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,104 specimens collected within 10 miles of Walter Nichols House between 1853 and 1975: 1,105 Animalia, 789 Fungi, 172 Plantae, 17 Protozoa, 13 Chromista, 8 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. A. Wright, A. E. Recksecker 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 | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cantharellus minor Peck | 1896 | F.D. Kelsey | Near Oberlin |
 | Coniophora byssoides (Pers.) P.Karst. | 1896 | F. D. Kelsey | Oberlin. |
 | Polyporus arcularius (Batsch) Fr. | 1896 | F.D. Kelsey | |
 | 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 |
 | Accipiter cooperii (Bonaparte, 1828) | 1894 | Dawson, W. L. (William Leon) | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
| Aecidium nesaeae W.R.Gerard | 1894 | Kelsey, F.D. | Lorain County, Ohio | |
| Albugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) Roussel | 1894 | F.D. Kelsey | Oberlin | |
 | 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 |
All 2,104 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this property
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Walter Nichols House: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorain Cnty Hwy Dept. Stone Quarry | Stone | Producer |
Storms near this property
60 of 74 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elyria, the town this property stands in, in 74 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 45 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 3 flash flood, 3 lightning. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1999 | Lightning | Elyria | 1 hurt | A 40 year old woman working inside was injured when electricity from a lightning strike traveled through the fan she was using. The woman was taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries. |
| March 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Elyria | $400,000 | A weak tornado briefly touched down along Griswold Road. The tornado traveled east toward the Midway Mall and created an intermittent damage path approximately two miles long. The tornado caused damage to several structures along its path. A florist/greenhouse suffered extensive damage as much of its roof was torn off. A garage was destroyed, and the car inside sustained severe damage. Newspaper articles also indicated that vinyl siding was torn from the side of an office supply store, and a shopping cart was blown and shattered a window of a store. Numerous trees and power lines were also taken down. No injuries were reported from this tornado. |
| July 1999 | Lightning | Elyria | $225,000 | A church was struck by lightning and caught fire. |
| January 2007 | Flood | Elyria | $200,000 | Runoff from heavy rains on January 5th caused the Black River in Elyria to go above the flood stage of 9.5 feet during the evening hours of January 5th. The river crested at 15.21 feet around 4 a.m on January 7th and went out of flood during the early morning hours of January 8th. Significant flooding occurred in the Cascade Park area in Elyria. Several roads and streets in the area had to be closed because of flooding. |
| September 2005 | Lightning | Elyria | $110,000 | Lightning struck a transformer and caught it on fire. The fire spread to an industrial building nearby catching the building on fire. There was major structural damage as a result of the fire. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $100,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed trees throughout Lorain County. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Elyria | $100,000 | Hail the size of hen eggs was reported. Several vehicles were damaged by the hail. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $75,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and a couple of power poles. Scattered power outages were reported. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $75,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed many trees in Elyria. One home lost a large section of roof and two others were damaged by fallen trees. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $60,000 | A thunderstorm downburst caused damage in Elyria. Winds estimated to be at least 60 mph tore a large section of roof off of a church. Several trees were knocked near the church as well. |
| August 2007 | Flood | Elyria | $50,000 | Heavy rain fell across the area during the morning hours of the 20th. Rainfall reports across the area ranged between 2.0 and 4.0 inches throughout the Black River basin that day. While some locations across the county had some locally high water in places, water was able to drain into streams and rivers. With that, runoff from streams and rivers quickly filled that afternoon. With so much water draining throughout the basin, the Black River at Elyria rose above flood stage of 9.5 feet that evening. The river continued to rise through the early overnight hours, then leveled off at around 10.9 feet. The river remained steady at that level for about twelve hours. Then, during the afternoon of the 21st, the river started rising again. This trend continued through the evening hours, and crested at 13.3 feet at 5:30 am on the 22nd. The river began falling through the day on the 22nd, but didnt go below flood stage until 11:00 pm on the 22nd. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $40,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph. Many trees and large limbs were downed. A car was heavily damaged by a fallen tree. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $35,000 | Lorain County Emergency Management and broadcast media confirmed multiple trees down in the Elyria and North Ridgeville areas. The homes were damaged due to falling trees. A gazebo was also damaged. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $35,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees across Lorain County. A couple roads in the Elyria area were blocked by fallen trees. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $35,000 | Winds were estimated at 60 mph as severe thunderstorms moved through the area. Also, a trained spotter reported several trees down. A tree was also reported to have fallen on a house causing structural damage. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $35,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs. At least one home and one garage were damaged by fallen trees. |
| June 2005 | Hail | Elyria | $30,000 | Half dollar size hail was observed. Other trained spotters in the area also reported hail which ranged from penny to quarter size at that same time. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $25,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed many trees across the county. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $20,000 | Severe thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated to be around 60 mph. Numerous trees were reported down in the area. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $15,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed some trees in Elyria and Sheffield Townships. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $15,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs. A car was damaged by a limb on the west side of Elyria. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $12,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a tree and an utility pole. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $10,000 | Photo of downed large tree branch that went through a ceiling in a house in Elyria. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $10,000 | A tree fell down on a house on Concord Ave. The tree fell with damaging wind gusts from the outflow ahead of the thunderstorms. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $6,000 | The Sheriff's office relayed reports of trees and limbs down across Elyria. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $5,000 | A few trees and power lines were blown down. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $5,000 | Several trees were reported down. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $3,000 | Numerous large tree limbs were downed. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $3,000 | Trees were downed, some on power lines. |
| July 2003 | Hail | Elyria | $2,000 | Nickel size hail was observed. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $2,000 | Trees were downed. |
| June 1996 | Flash Flood | Elyria | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds toppled a couple small trees. |
| October 2012 | Flood | Elyria | $1,000 | The Black River at Elyria reached moderate flood stage during this event. The river rise was more gradual compared to climatology for this river due to the slow rainfall rates. The river came out of its banks and inundated Cascade Park, reaching some of the maintenance facilities. Damage was minimal. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a couple large tree limbs. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Several trees downed about two-miles SSE of Sheffield. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Extensive tree damage in Elyria. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Healthy tree snapped in Elyria. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Several trees damaged in the Spring Valley section of Elyria. Damage was related to an outflow-dominant line of thunderstorms. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Elyria | - | Hail up to quarter-size in Elyria. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Tree limbs downed in Elyria. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Tree limbs downed about two-miles southeast of Elyria. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Trees downed along Ohio Turnpike about 1.24 miles NNE of Elyria. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Elyria | - | Hail up to golf ball-size about two-miles northwest of Elyria. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Tree downed onto house along Loyola Drive in Sheffield. Unsure of any damage to house. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Trees downed just southeast of downtown Elyria. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Numerous trees snapped and blocking roadways in Elyria. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Tree fell onto house near downtown Elyria and another tree fell onto another home one mile SSE of Elyria. 18 trees were downed at OH routes 10 and 57, four miles WNW of Eaton Estates. |
| January 2019 | Hail | Elyria | - | There were several reports of quarter-sized hail in the Elyria area from trained spotters and social media. Quarter-sized hail was reported near the Lorain County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security building. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Elyria | - | Penny sized hail was observed. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Elyria | - | Quarter sized hail was observed. |
| May 2011 | Flash Flood | Elyria | - | 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 Elyria, water several feet deep was reported over Poplar and Olive Streets. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Elyria | - | Nickel to quarter sized hail was observed for several minutes. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Elyria | - | Penny to quarter sized hail was observed. |
| May 2009 | Hail | Elyria | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| May 2009 | Hail | Elyria | - | Nickel size hail was observed. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elyria | - | A trained spotter measured a wind gust of 60 mph. No damaged was noted during the wind gust. |
Maps showing this location
7 surveysUnited 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.
- 1901 USGS Oberlin quadrangle1:62500 - 3 printings
- 1903 USGS Oberlin quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Grafton quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Toledo quadrangle1:250000 - 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Toledo quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Grafton quadrangle1:24000 - 4 printings
- 1986 USGS Lorain quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings
From the nomination file
538 words on recordWhen 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 reproduced in full on its own page, word for word and 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.
The whole case file for this property - 538 words, 4 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 79002733, 4 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 milesOther 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 | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Addison Lord House | under 500 feet | 1999 |
| Frederick Reefy House | under 500 feet | 1979 | |
 | Thomas W. Laundon House | under 500 feet | 1975 |
| George Bryant House | 0.1 miles | 2016 | |
 | First United Methodist Church | 0.1 miles | 1979 |
| Elyria Downtown-West Avenue Historic District | 0.2 miles | 2001 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 79002733 in Record Group 79. |
| Lorain County | All 121 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.