It has a unique past, and awaits a new owner with plans for its future.

The Searle House Bed and Breakfast in Plymouth will be auctioned on Thursday, June 14 at 5:00 p.m.. The large, 3300 square foot frame house was constructed in the 1870s, and features 7 bedrooms, commercial-rated kitchen, detached garage and a 1500 gallon fish pond with meditation area. The $800,000 invested in the property over the last two decades came from Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum, a Plymouth girl who became a nationally-known philanthropist following her marriages to Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and Leonard McCollum, President of Continental Oil. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 under the name “Tubbs-Sourwine House.”

Plymouth is a community of almost 2,000 residents which straddles the Richland and Huron County border. It boasts a strong history in manufacturing which is showcased in the wonderful Heritage Center Museum downtown – a museum largely created and endowed by donations from Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum.

The Searle House is not the only bed and breakfast property currently for sale in Ohio. Older properties which are now available include the Blackfork Inn in Loudonville, the Mount Vernon House in rural Mount Vernon (note – page does not appear to work in Firefox), the Bigham House in Millersburg, and an amazing potential bed and breakfast at 1119-1125 Maple Avenue in Zanesville.

Photo:  Searle House, Plymouth

Heritage Ohio, the non-profit organization which administers the Ohio Main Street Program, has issued its initial set of “Top Opportunities.” According to the program’s website, this list is intended to “…draw attention to buildings that may be under-utilized or await redevelopment. It also seeks to show the public that what may appear as a vacant building today, may be tomorrow’s hot spot: offering a location that may provide loft housing, the latest restaurant or retail establishment or a new center of commerce.”

After soliciting nominations from across the state, the following buildings were chosen for this list:

• Ohio National Guard Building – Marietta
• Cla-Zel Theatre – Bowling Green
• Old County Jail – Norwalk
• Stewart Building – Toledo
• Federal Building – Zanesville
• St. Paul’s Evangelical Church – Cincinnati
• Home Guard Building – Van Wert
• Resthaven Barn – Mariemont
• Canby Building – Bellfontaine
• Robins Theatre -- Warren

Photo: Cla-Zel Theatre, Bowling Green - Jim Rees/Creative Commons License

When industrialist Andrew Carnegie launched his campaign to fund library construction in communities across the country, Ohio was a key focus of that philanthropy. According to Wikipedia, out of the 1,689 Carnegie libraries built in America between 1883 and 1929, 106 of them were located in the Buckeye State (111 is the number according to Ohio Carnegie Library historian Mary Ellen Armentrout). The buildings were pacesetting, not only in the quality of the architecture which found its way to small towns across Ohio, but also in the fact that the design promoted the then-revolutionary “open stack” approach to library use – something we take for granted today.

The fate of Ohio’s collection of Carnegie library buildings is a mixed one. Over the years, 10 of these landmark buildings have been lost, including the library in Marysville, which was demolished in the middle of the night. In places such as Galion, Norwalk, Paulding, East Liverpool and Sandusky, however, wonderful restorations and compatible expansions have guaranteed that future generations will continue to benefit by the combination of wonderful resources and architecture. Other structures, including the former library in downtown Delaware, have been restored for other uses.

Unlike California, however, where no Carnegie library has been demolished since 1978, at least five of Ohio’s Carnegie buildings – in Coshocton, Xenia and Middletown, and two branch libraries in Cleveland – sit vacant, and in the case of Middletown, is the current focus of a sheriff’s sale and likely demolition. In each, the library moved to new facilities at some point in the last thirty years, leaving their historic homes to an uncertain future.

This wonderful recent photo essay in UrbanOhio profiles the fate of six Carnegie buildings – three which have been successfully renovated, and the three of those which are endangered.

Photo:  Carnegie Library, Galion - Preservation Ohio File Photo

According to this story in Sunday's DaytonMostMetro.com blog, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, through Royce Yeater, Director of the Trust's Midwest Office, has expressed the opinion that the existing study concerning NCR Building 26 was “flawed.”  In a letter to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, Yeater states that the study failed to take into consideration the potential of selectively removing later building materials and the historic integrity of what remains of the original structure. This position echoes that one reached previously in a Preservation Dayton study.  Copies of the National Trust letter, the ASC report and the Preservation Dayton study can all be viewed via the MostMetro story.

The building in question was the location of highly significant code-breaking activities during World War II, and has been the focus of significant attention in recent months after the University of Dayton proposed demolition. For more information on NCR Building 26, including several recent stories, click here to visit the site’s page on Preservation Ohio’s Endangered Watch List.

Photo: Preservation Dayton website featuring NCR Building 26

About.com has added a section profiling the East Fourth Street Entertainment District to its Cleveland page. The review includes a look at rehabbed commercial buildings, restaurants, hotels and nearby attractions.

A new website, www.bathgreen.org, reveals the ongoing struggle of citizens in Bath Township, Summit County, to prevent construction of cell phone towers in township historic and scenic byway corridors.

Grassroots Greater Dayton reports on the efforts of Preservation Dayton, the local preservation organization, to encourage preservation of former NCR Building 26. The site is under review by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, which will make a recommendation concerning its future to the building’s owner, the University of Dayton. The structure was the site of significant code-breaking efforts during World War II.

Click here to access the new “Save the Highland Theatre” website. The Highland Square Theatre Corporation has been formed to try and stave off demolition of this Akron entertainment icon. The group has prepared a counter-proposal to razing the theater building for parking purposes for school construction, which can be viewed in detail on the site.

On the Ohio Archaeology Blog, readers are asked for “…immediate creative and financial help” to assist in rescuing Spruce Hill in rural Ross County, which contains an important Hopewell earthworks site. Three organizations are banding together in an attempt to purchase the property (which requires a minimum outlay of $1.2 million)! The entry references this website, which includes a more detailed description of the property and its significance.

The last open field battle between Colonial and British troops in the American Revolutionary War period will be commemorated for the first time on June 9 and 10 in rural Crawford County.

The Battle of Olentangy took place on June 6, 1782, and was the last battle of Colonel William Crawford's ill-fated expedition to quell Indian uprisings in the west.  Crawford had been separated from his troops in a previous battle, and therefore the Colonials were led by a Colonel Williamson and Lieutenant John Rose -- the latter being the name used by Baron Gustave de Rosenthal, likely the only member of Russian nobility to fight during the American Revolution.  The battle lasted only an hour, during which three Americans were killed and eight wounded.

Recent study and artifacts have helped to pinpoint the location for the battle, which likely occurred in a location roughly equidistant between Bucyrus and Galion.  During this 225th Anniversary Reenactment, visitors will not only be able to observe troops in camp and in battle, but will be led on guided tours of important sites in the Crawford Expedition.

Fore more information, please contact Preservation Ohio at: info@preservationohio.org

Photo: Colonel William Crawford/Public Domain

Historic downtowns across the state have been the focus of both positive and negative developments and news as 2007 has progressed. Here is a review of some of what is happening in downtown Ohio:

Troy – A significant structure in downtown Troy, the Dye Building, has been sold to a development group, which intends to renovate the three-story building. The City of Troy is considering making a loan to the new owner to facilitate preservation work.  Click here for details.

Galion – Main Street Galion, the sole surviving charter downtown organization in the Ohio Main Street Program, has ended its 12-plus years of existence as a local Main Street program. In its heyday, the organization spearheaded an extensive re-building of the city’s Public Square and three blocks of commercial buildings.

Marietta – Distressing news was unveiled recently by a group of Marietta College students, whose survey documented 147 vacancies among 474 commercial and residential units in a section of downtown Marietta. The survey was sponsored by the local group, “Restore,” which is seeking to conduct a comprehensive revitalization initiative.

Greenville – This western Ohio county seat town is looking to create an architectural review ordinance for their downtown area. Mayor Greg Fraley was quoted as stating, "This will help protect the historic preservation of the downtown." "It will help protect the heritage of the downtown."  Click here to read more.

Warren – The Youngstown Vindicator reports that Downtown Warren is going “wireless” in an effort to attract businesses to their central city area. The $33,000 project is funded by a local foundation and the City of Warren, and future plans under consideration would take the network city-wide.

Chillicothe – Ohio’s first capital city has retained the services of a nationally-known downtown planning firm, Hyatt Palma, in their efforts to jumpstart revitalization. Downtown advocates are concerned about recent losses due to fire, as well as the continuing condition of the landmark Carlisle Building.  Click here for local news coverage.

Photo: Carlisle Building, Chillicothe - Seth Gaines/Creative Commons License

After our story ran on April 28 congratulating German Village on its designation as a Preserve America community (the first Ohio neighborhood so designated), we heard from our friends at the German Village Society, who graciously allowed us to run their new welcome video.  So -- we are pleased to share that with you below (be sure to turn your speakers on!). Click here for coverage of this announcement