Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 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.
“The Ralph Hardesty Stone House is a historic house located on Main Street in Norwich, Ohio.”
Wikipedia article Ralph Hardesty Stone House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
one of 70 National Register listings in Muskingum County · listed in 1980 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Union Township in History of Muskingum County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1882 names Norwich. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The year 1811, added quite a number of settlers to the population. William Garner located on the northwest quarter of section five. (now Israel Carr's). Peter Galigher entered a portion of section four, (now John Jennings ). Benjamin Wortman located on the southwest quarter of section seven, (now partially occupied by the village of Norwich). Simon Elhott settled on land now owned by Simon Elliott, Jr., being the southwest quarter of section three. ,
Passage source: History of Muskingum County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1882.
In 1830, a large gristmill was built on lands owned by Jos. Geyer, south of Norwich, by Thos. Maxfield, Thomas Few, Samuel Lorrain, and Manning Putnam. It contained three run of buhrs, with ample machinery, but after passing through various hands, (always unprofitable, ) it was torn down, and the machinery moved to Gratiot, west of Zanesville, in 1870.
Passage source: History of Muskingum County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1882.
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 Union Township - 5,138 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 32 fires within 5 miles of Hardesty, Ralph, Stone House between 2011 and 2018, burning about 44 acres in total. 1 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 burning | 16 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 July 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 July 2012 | Natural | 3.0 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 25 June 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 May 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 20 April 2017 | Smoking | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | 7926 |
| 20 April 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | 4505 |
| 2 April 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,354 specimens collected within 10 miles of Hardesty, Ralph, Stone House between 1890 and 1975: 1,042 Animalia, 299 Plantae, 8 Fungi, 5 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. H. Wright, Adams, W., Adams, W. (William), Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) et al. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Scleroderris rubra Morgan | 1891 | Morgan, Andrew Price | Preston |
 | Peziza nana Massee & Morgan | 1895 | Morgan, Andrew Price | Preston |
 | Frullania saxicola Austin | 1896 | William C. Werner | |
 | Frullania eboracensis Lehm. | 1890 | W. C. Werner | |
 | Porella pinnata L. | 1891 | W. C. Werner | |
 | Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff. | 1891 | W. C. Werner | |
 | Lachnum viridulum Massee & Morgan | 1905 | Morgan, Andrew Price | Preston |
 | Peziza morganii Massee | 1905 | Morgan, Andrew Price | Preston (The no longer extant town of Preston, Ohio, was located in Hamilton County in the Miami River drainage). |
| Tapesia derelicta Morgan | 1905 | Morgan, Andrew Price | Preston | |
 | Bubo virginianus virginianus (J.F.Gmelin, 1788) | 1908 | A. H. Wright | New Concord |
 | Medicago sativa L. | 1911 | Coleman, J. | New Concord |
 | Castanea dentata (Marshall) Borkh. | 1927 | Drushel, J.A. |
All 1,354 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Hardesty, Ralph, Stone House: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westland Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Westland Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Norwich, the town this property stands in, in 21 storm reports between 2004 and 2025: 10 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 3 heavy rain, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norwich | $20,000 | A large number of trees were down along side of I-70. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norwich | $20,000 | Power outages in Norwich. |
| November 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norwich | $15,000 | Law enforcement reported trees down near Zane Grey Road. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norwich | $10,000 | Trained spotter reported multiple trees down. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norwich | $5,000 | Local 911 center reported trees down on East Pike near Zane Grey Road. |
| September 2021 | Heavy Rain | Norwich | - | A storm total of 4.10 inches of rain was reported. |
| March 2020 | Hail | Norwich | - | Broadcast media reported quarter size hail in Norwich, OH. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norwich | - | The county emergency manager reported that trees were blown down in the vicinity of Hiestand Lane. |
| June 2019 | Funnel Cloud | Norwich | - | The local sherrif department reported a funnel cloud along I-70 near mile marker 160, with a picture also received via social media. |
| July 2019 | Heavy Rain | Norwich | - | A citizen reported 1.81 inches of rain. |
| August 2018 | Hail | Norwich | - | Citizens of Muskingum County reported hail. |
| August 2018 | Hail | Norwich | - | Citizens of Muskingum County reported hail. |
| August 2018 | Hail | Norwich | - | Citizens of Muskingum County reported hail. |
| July 2012 | Heavy Rain | Norwich | - | A trained spotter reported over 2 inches of rain in the last 6 hours. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norwich | - | no account filed |
| March 2024 | Hail | Norwich | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Norwich | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Norwich | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Norwich | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Norwich | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Norwich | - | no account filed |
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.
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.
_fair plant storage, have been added to the rear (north) and to the west side. The stone is and brick house" on this lot. No photos exist, however, to substantiate this idea. ably of cherry or walnut. Original molded woodwork, including window casings and chair rail, are intact. Each of the four original rooms has a fireplace, with that of one of the date unexposed 8.
(in one paragraph) the general rule. with no occupation. X1800-1899 Xarchitecture _ archeology-prehistoric community planning - landscape architecture_ _ religion folk architecture known as the "I-house," that is, a structure one room deep, 2 rooms The Ralph Hardesty House is nominated as the first and only stone house in the The house was built for Ralph Hardesty who purchased the lot from Benjamin Wortman in Little is known of Hardesty himself.The 1850 Census 1ists him as aged 43 years and 9.
The whole case file for this property - 1,119 words, 9 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 80003184, 9 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.
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 | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | "S" Bridge II | 2.3 miles | 1973 |
 | West Union School | 2.6 miles | 1978 |
 | Stormont, David, House | 2.8 miles | 1983 |
 | Salt Creek Covered Bridge | 2.8 miles | 1974 |
 | Glenn, John, Boyhood Home | 2.9 miles | 2018 |
 | Harper, William Rainey, Log House | 3.0 miles | 1978 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 80003184 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Muskingum County | All 70 listed properties in this county. |
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