Mary E. Bayley House, 521 South Fountain Avenue, Springfield

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OHIO,12-SPRIF,6-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This house is significant as an early Civil War era residence on the street, one of the oldest residences in its neighborhood and in the South Fountain Avenue Historic District. While it has been extensively enlarged and altered over the years, the house retains much of its overall form and some of its Greek Revival style detailing. Description: The Bayley House is a long rectangular building that has several projecting wings and dormers. These all appear to postdate the original construction, which seems to be about The main building is of wood frame construction and is covered with clapboard siding. It rises to a height of two stories, although the gable roof extends into the second floor along the sides.

Originally the sides had no windows, but these have been cut in at irregular intervals and some dormers have also been inserted to add to headroom on the second floor. A series of exposed gable end and lateral wall flush chimneys also seem to postdate the original construction period of the house. Wood shingle siding is used to face a lateral gable-roofed one-story wing as well as the hipped dormers added to the main roof A bracketed Colonial Revival style front porch shelters the center front doorway. There is a side entrance with a wood canopy overhead. The house rests on a stone foundation and stands on a bluff overlooking the street and accented by shade trees and shrubbery. History: Mary E.

Bayley owned the house and was apparently living here in when a permit was taken out to connect the house to the city's water system. William Bayley, a draughtsman, also lived here then and was probably her husband or perhaps her son. Normally, the husband's name would have been listed first in the city directory, but this was not the case here. By William Bayley, chief engineer, lived here, along with Mary Bayley. They resided here until In the house was listed as being vacant and the following year until this was the home of Herman W. and Glenice Steiniger. He was an engineer. In the late the house was listed as having two families and had a series of residents until Since that year it was been vacant.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OHIO,12-SPRIF,6-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

and later Springfield city directories. The building stands within the South Fountain Avenue Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Copies of this nomination are at the Springfield Department of Planning and Development and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.