Andrew & Sarah Duncan House, 618 South Wittenberg Avenue, Springfield

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OHIO,12-SPRIF,10-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This house is significant as a rare example of Dutch Colonial Revival style residential housing stock in the city. It retains its basic form and is distinguished by its gambrel roof, side dormers and full-width front porch. Description: The Duncan House is a rectangular building that is part of a relatively closely spaced cluster of turn of the century houses within the proposed African-American Historic District. The frame walls rise from a masonry foundation and extend up to the base of the second floors along the sides. The house has a small cornice with returns at the gable ends. At the front and rear the gambrel roof ends impart a barn-like quality to the house.

A single double-hung one-over-one window in front and a similar off-center window in the rear plus a small square window are present in these gable ends. The sides each have small shallow-pitched or pedimented gabled dormers. One side seems to contain the staircase to the second floor. The full-width front porch has a shallow-pitched hipped roof that is supported by turned wood corner posts spaced between a simple but altered porch railing. The house has a center brick chimney. The rear elevation features a small lean-to wing that seems like an addition on part of its length and a small entrance porch at its center. Newer siding covers the exterior. History: This building was probably constructed around the turn of the century or perhaps about judging from its styling and materials.

From at least through it was home to Andrew and Sarah Duncan. He worked as a janitor. From it was home to Charles C. and Martha Steele. He was a grocery worker. For two years after that it was home to Martha Steele, a widow, and for three years after that it was home to Carlos Steele, perhaps a son. It had a variety of short-term owners in recent years and has been vacant since

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OHIO,12-SPRIF,10-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

and later Springfield city directories. The building stands within the proposed African-American Historic District, which has been determined eligible by the Ohio State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Copies of information used to make this determination of eligibility for National Register status are at the Springfield Department of Planning and Development and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.