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
Sprague House
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. 6 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1904.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
- Address. S of Wellington at jct. of OH 58 and Jones Rd., Wellington Township, Wellington, 44090
- When was it listed? 1979-06-15
- Category. building
- Also known as. Wellington-Huntington Road MRA
- Township. Wellington township
- Architectural style. Greek Revival architecture, Federal architecture
- National Register reference number. 79003894 - 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 1956The ground this property stands on, surveyed 52 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
19,045 wordsThe chapter on Wellington Township in History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879 names Wellington. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The township is traversed by several affluents of Black river, Wellington creek in the eastern, Charlemout creek and the west branch of Black river in the western and northern parts. It is therefore well watered, and has a diversified soil of alluvium and upland. The surface is level, and much of it back from the streams was originally regarded as swale lands, but their adaptation for meadow and grazing purposes is unsurpassed. There is not an acre of waste laud in the township. In the eastern jjart are still seen the remains of an old beaver dam, which in an early day served to Hood an extent of fifty or seventy-five acres, and was known as Wellington swain|i. It ali'orded a secure retreat for wild animals. It was the haunt of the bear and the wolf. Its impenetrable thickets afforded an effectual screen from the hunter's vigilance. The wolf, for miles away, when closely pursued, headed for Wellington swamp, and it was a struggle of skill and endurance on the part of the hunter to cut him off' from that retreat. The east and west center road, when constructed, crossed it in the middle. The road was made by felling the brush upon the surface of the morass, upon which stringers were placed lengthwise upo;i cross i)ieces placed on the brush; over these stringers the corduroy covering was laid. The road was literally a bridge, which, as used, would gradually settle below the surface, when other stringers were jilaced aud more corduroy was laid. It was too narrow for teams to meet and pass thereon. If two met, the lightest loaded was unhitched, load removed, wagon uncoupled and crowded to one side, team backed to terra finiin, while the other jnished on. Such hindrances rarely occurred, however, for the noise of the jolting wagon ujion the rough corduroy gave timely notice that the road was occupied.
Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.
The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railway traverses the townshi]) diagonally, from the northeast to the southwest corner. It is crossed by five roads running north and south, and by three east and west. It is about midway between Elyria on the north, Ashland on the south, Medina on the east, and Norwalk on the west, and on the most direct road to each. This fact, at an early day, gave Wellington importance as the center of local trade, and rendezvous for land owners and settlers.
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 Wellington Township - 19,045 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Specimens collected near this property
12 of 1,263 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,263 specimens collected within 10 miles of Sprague House between 1852 and 1975: 1,022 Animalia, 139 Fungi, 96 Plantae, 3 Chromista, 2 Unrecorded, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. E. Ricksecker, A. M. Evans, 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.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Polyporus arcularius (Batsch) Fr. | 1896 | Kelsey, Francis Duncan | Kipton |
 | Sphaeropsis Sacc. | 1898 | H.L. Jones | |
 | Dryopteris spinulosa (O.F.Müll.) Watt | 1899 | Ricksecker, A.E. | Wood 4 miles south of Oberlin. |
 | Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. | 1852 | Drège | |
 | Parus bicolor Linnaeus, 1766 | 1874 | Woods, N. W. | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
 | Colaptes auratus luteus Bangs, 1898 | 1885 | McCormick, L. M. | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
 | Dendroica castanea (A.Wilson, 1810) | 1885 | McCormick, L. M. | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
 | Molothrus ater ater (Boddaert, 1783) | 1885 | McCormick, L. M. | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
 | Picoides pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832) | 1885 | McCormick, L. M. | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
 | Picoides villosus villosus (Linnaeus, 1766) | 1885 | McCormick, L. M. | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
 | Pipilo erythrophthalmus erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1885 | McCormick, L. M. | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
 | Accipiter cooperii (Bonaparte, 1828) | 1894 | Dawson, W. L. (William Leon) | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
All 1,263 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Storms near this property
31 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wellington, the town this property stands in, in 31 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 19 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1994 | Tornado (F1) | Wellington | $500,000 | A tornado touched down just south of Wellington at the intersection of Pitts and Jones Road. One home suffered significant damage and two barns were destroyed as the tornado moved almost due north. Nine other homes suffered minor damage and trees, utility poles, and power lines were downed. Two dogs in dog boxes that were kept in one of the destroyed barns were found 5 to 15 yards away from the site still in their boxes and unhurt. |
| August 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Wellington | $40,000 | A tornado with estimated peak winds of 80 mph impacted Wellington. The tornado began near the intersection of Meadow Lane and Sheila Drive, where tops of trees were broken off and scattered across neighboring streets, residential homes, and vehicles. As the tornado moved southeastward, a large tree was uprooted and fell onto a house along Hale Street. After the tornado crossed OH Route 18, powerlines and several trees were downed, and several large tree limbs were broken off and landed on homes. The tornado ended east of Grand Avenue, south of Dickson Street. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $35,000 | A microburst destroyed a barn, and the debris was blown downwind across a farm field. A neighboring garage and outbuilding also sustained minor damage. Several trees were also downed by the severe winds. There were no injuries reported. |
| June 1996 | Flash Flood | Wellington | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $15,000 | Numerous trees were reported down. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $10,000 | A few trees were reported down. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed three large trees south of Wellington in Findlay State Park. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $8,000 | Numerous trees were reported down. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $8,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees. |
| July 2005 | Lightning | Wellington | $5,000 | Lightning struck a house causing minor damage. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs and power lines. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $5,000 | Trees and limbs were downed. |
| August 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $5,000 | no account filed |
| December 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $4,000 | A line of showers and thunderstorms downed a tree and a few large limbs as it moved through the Wellington area. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $3,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a tree and a few large limbs. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $3,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed two trees. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $3,000 | Several trees were reported down. |
| December 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $1,000 | A line of showers and thunderstorms downed a couple of large tree limbs as it moved through the Wellington area. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a tree. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | $1,000 | A few large limbs were reported down. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Wellington | - | Hail up to golf ball-size in Wellington. |
| November 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | - | Estimated peak wind gust of 70 mph from thunderstorm three miles NE of Wellington. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | - | A tree was snapped at the base. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Wellington | - | Penny sized hail was observed. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wellington | - | Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Wellington | - | Nickel size hail was reported. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Wellington | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| July 2006 | Hail | Wellington | - | Quarter size hail was observed. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Wellington | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| August 2004 | Hail | Wellington | - | Penny to quarter size hail was observed south of Wellington. |
| May 1997 | Hail | Wellington | - | no account filed |
Newspapers printed here
1 paper1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read. 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.
| Newspaper | Published |
|---|---|
| The Wellington Enterprise | 1899 to 1900 |
Maps showing this location
6 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.
- 1904 USGS Wellington quadrangle1:62500
- 1906 USGS Wellington quadrangle1:62500
- 1956 USGS Toledo quadrangle1:250000 - 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Wellington quadrangle1:24000 - 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Toledo quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Lorain quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings
From the nomination file
458 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 - 458 words, 5 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 79003894, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Gunn House | 0.4 miles | 1979 |
 | Mosher House | 0.5 miles | 1979 |
 | Benjamin Wadsworth House | 0.7 miles | 1979 |
| J. B. Wilber House | 1.2 miles | 1979 | |
| Wellington Historic District | 1.2 miles | 1979 | |
| Wellington Center Historic District | 1.5 miles | 1974 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 79003894 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.
- 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.