Dunton House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. 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

“The Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland railroad was located through this place in 1852 and completed the following year. A new era was now dawning in the history of the village, and from the time of the completion of the Lake Shore road, dates the substantial progress of Bellevue. The quick eye of the enterprising settler was equal to the emergency.”
History of Huron County Ohio Its Progress and Development (1909). Machine-read text.

one of 15 National Register listings in Huron County · listed in 1982 · category: Building.

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. 130 Benedict Ave., Norwalk, 44857
When was it listed? 1982-12-16
Category. building
Township. Norwalk city
National Register reference number. 82001469 - 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.

The ground it stands on

23,684 words

The chapter on Norwalk Township in Picturesque Huron; or Huron County, Ohio As Seen Through a Camera, published 1896 names Norwalk. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

In 183:2, Henry W^. Shaw entered college at Hamilton, X. V.. and remained one year, when he returned home to spend his vacation. When oTi his return trip to college, on a canal boat between Alb.iny an>l Utica. he met as passengers, two adventurers on their wa\ to St. Louis, and their stories of the wild west .so captured the student that college was left in the rear, and he coninned his journey until he reached St. Louis, where he joined a bauil of adventurers who were going across the plains to the Pacific, but owing to troubles with the Indians, the party broke up, leaving young Shaw a tramp in the .streets of St. Louis, from which city he wandered east, arriving in Norwalk, sometime in the winter of l,S:;.')-0, where his brother Robert was then engaged in mercantile business.

Passage source: Picturesque Huron; or Huron County, Ohio As Seen Through a Camera, published 1896.

A representative business man of Norwalk, was born at Wilkesbarre. Penua.. March -!!. IS-IV In IS 17 his parents removed to Huron county Ohio. The subject was educated at the Huron Institute at Milan, an:l in youth taught scIuxjI in this county. Later he devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, .stone ((uarryinj;, and dealing in real estate. He assisted in laying out the route of the Wheeling and Lake Rrie Railway.

Passage source: Picturesque Huron; or Huron County, Ohio As Seen Through a Camera, published 1896.

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 Norwalk Township - 23,684 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 850 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 850 specimens collected within 10 miles of Dunton House between 1893 and 1975: 471 Plantae, 314 Animalia, 64 Fungi, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. Woolman, B Zahuranec & party, Baumgartner, L. 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
Rumex verticillatus L.	1896	Stair, L. D.
Enallagma exsulans (Hagen, 1861)	1898	[Not Stated]	[Not Stated]
Campostoma anomalum (Rafinesque, 1820)	1893	A. Woolman	Ohio, Huron River, Monroeville
Dryopteris carthusiana (Vill.) H.P.Fuchs	1893	Collector(s): Edwin Lincoln Moseley	Milan, Huron River
Etheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845	1893	not recorded	Ohio, Monroeville, Huron River
Etheostoma flabellare Rafinesque, 1819	1893	not recorded	Ohio, Monroeville, Huron River
Etheostoma nigrum Rafinesque, 1820	1893	not recorded	Ohio, Monroeville, Huron River
Hypentelium nigricans (Lesueur, 1817)	1893	not recorded	Ohio, Monroeville, Huron River
Lithobates pipiens (Schreber, 1782)	1893	not recorded	Monroeville, Huron River
Notropis whipplei (Girard, 1856)	1893	A. Woolman	Ohio, Huron River, Monroeville
Noturus flavus Rafinesque, 1818	1893	A. Woolman	Ohio, Huron River, Monroeville
Bidens laevis (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.	1894	Collector(s): Edwin Lincoln Moseley	Huron River, Milan

All 850 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Dunton House: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Price Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Price Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Riley Stone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Riley Stone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Huron County

Storms near this property

60 of 96 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Norwalk, the town this property stands in, in 96 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 58 thunderstorm wind, 28 hail, 6 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 death. 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
February 2011	Flash Flood	Norwalk	1 killed	A motorist on South Norwalk Road entered flooded waters of a tributary of the Huron River, Cole Creek, in the town of Norwalk. The car was washed into the creek where the driver was killed. Witness report water depths of 2 to 3 feet over the bridge at time of incident.
July 2000	Flash Flood	Norwalk	$500,000	Thunderstorms dumped torrential rain on Norwalk during the late afternoon and early evening hours. 4.87 inches of rain was measured in Norwalk with 3 inches of that total falling in a 20 minute period around 530 pm. All streets in downtown Norwalk had to be closed because of water up to three feet deep. A car was washed off of a road in Lemar Lake Park. The vehicle became submerged in 5 feet of water. The driver of the car was rescued by fire fighters. Several roads in Norwalk were washed out. Many cars and homes sustained flooding damage.
November 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$250,000	Thunderstorms wind gusts in excess of 60 mph caused considerable damage in Norwalk. Dozens of trees were downed and at least one home sustained structural damage. Over half of the city lost power from the storm.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$250,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 to 70 mph caused extensive damage in Norwalk. Dozens of trees were downed in the city. Several homes sustained damage, mainly from fallen trees and limbs. A few utility poles were snapped caused scattered power outages.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$125,000	Thunderstorm downburst winds estimated to be at least 60 mph downed many trees and limbs in Norwalk. A vehicle accident on Washington Street was caused by one of the fallen trees. The driver was transported to a local hospital. Scattered power outages were reported in the city.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$125,000	Thunderstorm winds downed dozens of trees and large limbs in and around Norwalk. At least four homes were damaged by trees.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$100,000	A report was received from the Emergency Manager of wind damage to sevral homes in a neighborhood from this event. A survey was conducted and it was noted that several homes in the area lost shingles. One house that had nearly half the shingles blown off actually damaged the house next to it. The severe winds were strong enough to cause the shingles to break through the vinyl siding and plywood exterior of the neighboring house. Shingles were actually found in the attic of the neighboring home. Law enforcement reports from that evening also indicate that several trees were down across the City of Norwalk.
June 1997	Lightning	Norwalk	$100,000	no account filed
July 2013	Flash Flood	Norwalk	$75,000	The Norwalk Creek exceeded its banks as it was overwhelmed by runoff from torrential rain. The creek rose quickly and thretened a few homes and businesses which were inundated to their first level. A woman was rescued from her vehicle as the flowing creek overran Lover's Lane Road.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$75,000	Thunderstorm winds toppled two large cinder block walls at a school construction site.
September 1994	Tornado (F1)	Norwalk	$50,000	A small tornado touched down for a short time in an wooded area and flattened a number of trees.
August 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$50,000	no account filed
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$45,000	Thunderstorm winds downed many large trees in Norwalk. At least one home was damaged by a fallen tree.
October 2012	Flood	Norwalk	$40,000	The Norwalk Reservoir located in Norwalk covers 8.6 square mile drainage area into the Norwalk Creek. The reservoir does not control outflow but does have a spillway on the west side when the reservoir is overtopped. Early Tuesday morning the reservoir filled and the water coming out of the spillway caused the Norwalk Creek to flood. One home on Elm Street flooded though several more were evacuated. Five businesses on Water Street were flooded with as much as 2 feet of water. Once driver was rescued after he drove his car into Water Street. Other local roads in Norwalk were flooded with no property damage.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$30,000	A tree was downed on a house.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$25,000	Several large trees and numerous utility poles were reported down.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$25,000	A 59 mph wind gust was measured in Norwalk and several large trees were downed. A roof of a house and a car were damaged by falling trees. Several trees were also reported down in Willard and Bellevue.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$20,000	A tree fell on a sheriff vehicle.
May 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$15,000	A three foot diameter tree was uprooted and another tree fell on a house in Norwalk.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$15,000	Several large trees were snapped or uprooted.
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$12,000	Large limbs were downed, at least one damaging a house.
November 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$10,000	The Sheriff reported several trees down brought down by thunderstorm winds in Norwalk.
May 2007	Hail	Norwalk	$10,000	Quarter size hail was observed.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$10,000	A trained spotter estimated winds at 60 mph, with several trees and powers lines down.
April 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees around Norwalk.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and many large limbs.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed trees south of Norwalk and near Wakeman.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$8,000	Several trees and many large limbs were reported down.
May 2011	Hail	Norwalk	$5,000	Thunderstorms produced quarter sized hail.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed two trees.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$5,000	A few large limbs and power lines were reported down.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs.
November 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several road signs south of Norwalk.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees just east of Norwalk.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$5,000	Large trees downed.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$4,000	Several trees were reported down, along with power lines.
December 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$3,000	A line of showers and thunderstorms downed a couple of trees as it moved through the Norwalk area.
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$3,000	The public reported a couple small trees down on a golf course in Norwalk.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds downed two trees in Norwalk and a large limb in Wakeman.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$3,000	A tree and large limb was reported down.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$2,000	A tree was blown down on a power line. A utility pole was snapped.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$2,000	Thunderstorms winds downed a couple of trees.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs.
November 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$2,000	Several large limbs were reported down.
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed one tree and a large limb east of Norwalk.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$2,000	no account filed
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$2,000	no account filed
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph downed a couple large tree limbs.
May 2011	Hail	Norwalk	$1,000	Thunderstorms produced penny to nickel sized hail.
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$1,000	A few large limbs were reported down.
April 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	$1,000	Four trees were downed.
May 2025	Hail	Norwalk	-	Hail up to penny-size on the southwest side of Norwalk.
May 2025	Hail	Norwalk	-	Hail up to quarter-size on the south side of Norwalk.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	-	Two trees downed in Norwalk.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Norwalk	-	Large tree limbs downed along western side of Norwalk.
August 2023	Flash Flood	Norwalk	-	Widespread road closures due to flooding across Norwalk, Wakeman, and Townsend Township. This includes Wakeman Towline Road at Chappel Creek, Greenwich Milan Townline Road North near Union Road, Lehigh Road south of US-20, and Elm and Water Streets in Norwalk. Radar estimated 2.5 to 4.75 inches of rainfall across this area in a three hour period ending 100 AM EDT August 24, 2023.
June 2023	Flash Flood	Norwalk	-	Multiple road closures reported across the southern portion of Norwalk, including Christie Avenue, Shady Lane Drive, Water Street, and Benedict Avenue. Sewer backups reported in Norwood Avenue. Radar estimated 2 to 2.5 inches of rain fell in one hour.

Every storm recorded in Huron 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

1,974 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

gabled bays are similar in fenestration with one single hung window of the first floor appearance of the interior of the house.
The outside appearance of the building remains virtually unchanged from the date of con- All lintels and sills for openings in the masonry body of the building consist of cut serving fireplaces in the southwest corner of the rooms at the southeast corner of the The entrance bay is dis.tinguished bya pair of arched entrance doors set off by an The east elevation is composed of two 3 story gabled bays flanking the main entrance 4'o" offset of the bay is made up by a pair of ornamented brackets which visually gables is distinguished by a 2 story bay ending at the base of the gable end.The two occuring on the east side and one each on the three other faces of the building.
these bays is topped with a clapboard sided gable end containing a double hung window, of the building are similar in appearance. The north-most of the two east facing story rounded bay. This bay is capped with a wood, built-up crown with integral gutter the heating plant, remains intact. The exterior of the building has recently been chemically cleaned and sealed. on the second floor. Of course, these revisions have had minor impact on the overall - good stone foundation, oriented towards the east. The building is distinguished by 5 gables, and flat roof. The bay itself contains three double hung windows, with 1/1 sash.
ruins deteriorated unaltered of toilet and lavatory in the former pantry on the first floor; and update of the bathroom Areas of Significance - Check and justify below _ archeology-historic _ law .

Read the complete 1,974-word case file.

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) This building is nominated for its significance as an extremely fine example of as a singular example of this specific eclectic Victorian style in the Norwalk area and is made up of many materials and techiques which defy duplication by today's local architect Marlin Dunton, who was himself a citizen of some prominence and in- of the building, its strong reference to verticality, and the symmetry on the east with the use of the round bay on the building, on the building's south elevation as well as the variation of the slate shapes in the imbricated pattern on the roof. The Gothic influence is reflected by the steep sloped roof lines and in the use of ornamented Dunton, a local architect and builder.
He lived in the residence until he moved to Dunton was one of Norwalk's leading citizens for many years. He was born November 16, Mr. Dunton built the brick block next east of the court house which was long known as Dunton's Arcade, and other structures in Norwalk. He served on the city council and Dunton built the brick block east of the court house long known as the Dunton's Arcade on Bendict the only example extant of his work. Other owners and residents of the home were: A.V. Andrews, a prominant Norwalk Attorney, living there until 1910; Lorenzo Adelbert Hester, a long-time employee of the Huron County Bank who had a listing in a directory as a Farm Manager.
1888 commerce 1700-1799 economics 1500-1599 humanitarian 1400-1499 literature Period Builder/Architect engineering prehistoric agriculture Specific dates residences in the community.

Read the complete 1,974-word case file.

The whole case file for this property - 1,974 words, 15 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 82001469, 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
Huron County Children's Home	0.4 miles	2004
Huron County Courthouse And Jail	0.4 miles	1974
Benedict, Dr. David De Forest, House	0.4 miles	2016
Norwalk Memorial Hospital	1.4 miles	2007
Hosford, John, House	4.4 miles	1974
Zion Episcopal Church	4.9 miles	1974

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 82001469 in Record Group 79.
Huron County	All 15 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.