Floraville is one of four historic districts in Lebanon, Ohio listed in the National Register of Historic Places. [1] It is roughly bounded by Keever St. to the west, Cincinnati Ave. to the north, East St. to the east, and Orchard Ave. to the south. [2] [3] Comprising 440 acres, the district includes 61 buildings and 1 structure. [1] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 10, 1984 [3] [4]
The first recorded inhabitants of the area now known as Floraville were a company of Native American Indians that would regularly camp on the hillside just south of Cincinnati Pike (now Cincinnati Avenue). [5] First observed in the winter of 1798, 4 years before Lebanon is platted, they are seen for a short time each spring making sugar in what is now the western end of Floraville. [5]
According to a letter written by John C Skinner, dated October 31, 1889, and published in The Western Star , up until at least 1824 there was only one dwelling, the Maple-Rackett House (229 S Mechanic St.), within the boundaries now considered Floraville. That quickly changed as Lebanon established itself as the most important city in Warren County and a golden age of architecture came to the town. By 1839 there were 10 carpenter and joiner shops with 38 hands, a testament to the building activity in the area. [5] The now wealthy professionals and businessmen looked outside city limits to establish their grand estates. [5] Many set their eyes to the rolling hillside of the old Indian sugar camp, just south of the urban center.
By the mid-nineteenth century Floraville consisted of several large estates along Cincinnati Avenue and South Mechanic Street. The district became known for its sprawling gardens, curved paths, and abundant landscaping, which gave rise to the name Floraville. [4] [6] At the 1851 Ohio General Assembly it was proposed to incorporate the suburb into its own town under the new name. [7] The proposal was described as follows:
"And be it further enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the town of Floraville, in Warren county, be, and the same is hereby created a town corporate by the name of the town of Floraville, with the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the north-west corner of a lot of ground, now owned by Matthew Koogle, running thence in a southerly direction to the south-west corner of a lot of six acres and owned by George Miller, thence east to a point in the lands of A. H. Denelavy, and south from the west corner of a lot owned by John E. Dey, thence north to said corner of said Dey’s lot, thence west along the Lebanon and Chillicothe road to a lane running through John E. Dey’s land, thence down said lane to a road leading to Wilmington, thence west along the centre of said road to the line between the lands of Simon Suydam andAmos Smith, thence south on said Suydam and Smith’s line to the south bank of Turtle Creek, thence down the south bank of said creek to the place of beginning.
The said town of Floraville shall be entitled to all the privileges, and be subject to all the restrictions, conferred and imposed by the provisions of an act entitled An act for the regulation of incorporated towns" [7]
In March 1862 Floraville was annexed into the growing city of Lebanon, but its splendor was not lost. In an 1873 letter to the editor of the Jackson Standard the district was described as follows:
"Floraville, the south-western part of [Lebanon], is the prettiest part of it. It is noted for its nice and most beautiful buildings, and in the yards there are many beautiful trees, of different kinds, which adds a great deal to its appearance" [8]
Nearing the turn of the century, some of the large land tracts were partitioned into smaller lots for more modest homes. A few decades later, the demand for stately mansions plummeted with the onset of the Great Depression. Most of the houses stayed intact but were repurposed to fit the changing demographic: Glendower Historic Mansion (105 Cincinnati Ave) became a museum and is still available for tours through the Warren County Historical Society; Runyan Homestead (220 Mechanic St) began functioning as a nursing home and remained as such for almost 70 years; a number of other homes were converted to multi-unit apartments. In more recent years[ when? ] a renewed interest in restoring these iconic structures has taken hold. Most have been reverted to single-family dwellings and restored to their former glory. The proximity to downtown Lebanon and picturesque setting make the ideal location for a bed and breakfast or vacation rental,[ according to whom? ] both of which can currently be found scattered throughout the district. In October 1984 the area was listed on the US Register of Historic Places, further preserving Floraville's history for many more generations to come.
Characterized by gracious homes on spacious lots,[ clarification needed ] the Floraville Historic District retains many of the architecturally significant estates that established its place in history. Some of the first homes in the area, built in the 1830s and 1840s, were substantial cube-like brick structures patterned after the Greek Revival movement. [4] They can be easily identified by piers across the front facade, simple classical decorations [4] and roof lines adorned with heavy dentil molding. [9] The earliest example can be found at 215 South Mechanic Street and a similar design can be seen in Runyan Homestead (220 S Mechanic St.) across the street. Glendower Historic Mansion (105 Cincinnati Ave.) is another fine example of the Greek Revival design as well as is its neighbor, The Pillars (119 Cincinnati Ave.), no doubt because the original owners were brothers-in-law bent on one upping each other. [9]
Almost concurrent with the Greek Revival movement, elements of the Gothic Revival also began to emerge in homes around Floraville. The most notable example is The Cropper House AKA The Gables (229 Cincinnati Ave). Typified by its pointed arches and gingerbread-ike trim, the mullioned windows contain 108 separate panes of glass. [9]
In the housing boom that followed the Civil War, aesthetics began to shift toward Italianate styles. Many variations on the design can be spotted throughout Floraville, including an iconic Italian Villa known as The Gothic (207 Cincinnati Ave.) that also borrows many Gothic elements responsible for its name. Some of the earlier Italianate homes, like Burl Manor (230 S Mechanic St.), are similar in shape and size to the Greek Revival estates, while those built closer to the turn of the century are more modest frame residences with pedimented lintels, dog-ear window surrounds, bracketed friezes, and porches with cut-out designs in the posts.
| Home | Address | Year built | Architectural style | Historical significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 229 S Mechanic St. | 1808 | Federal |  |
 | 230 S Mechanic St. | 1830 | Italianate | Built by Amos Bennett for prominent businessman and politician William H P Denney. Denny began his career as an apprentice at the Western Star newspaper where he worked his way to partner and eventual owner by 1858. He served as a senator in the 41st and 42nd General Assemblies in 1842 and 1843. In an oration given by Prof. William H Venable for The Lebanon Centennial he notes, "Denny was one of the first who had a home on the Floraville side of the creek, in the aristocratic quarter... His house was that of a St. Julian, his board instead of groaning, laughed under its festal load." The home was eventually converted into a bed and breakfast in 1981. |
 | 304 S Mechanic St. | 1830 | ||
 | 215 S Mechanic St. | Late 1840 | Greek Revival | Built for John C Skinner, who served as Warren County's auditor from 1844 through 1852. It was one of the first Greek Revival homes built in Floraville. Piers across the front facade and simple classical decorations set the trend for subsequent Floraville estates: Glendower Mansion, Runyan Homestead and The Pillars. |
 | 99 E Orchard St. | 1838 | Italianate/ Greek Revival | |
 | 105 Cincinnati Ave. | 1845 | Greek Revival | Glendower Historic Mansion was built for about $10,000 by Amos Bennett for local merchant, attorney, and politician John Milton Williams. In the March 1938 issue of American Home, Glendower was described as an excellent example of “one of the important domestic types of early American Architecture.” In 1946, Ralph Fanning of the fine arts department at The Ohio State University called the home “one of the finest bits of Greek Revival architecture anywhere in the country.” It has had several prominent residents, including Civil War General Durbin Ward. The fateful ends of the first three owners lead some to speculate the house is cursed: Williams died a penniless alcoholic; the second went bankrupt helping Civil War veterans reclaim their pension and the third became an elderly recluse. It is now owned and operated by the Warren County Historical Society as a public museum. |
 | 227 Cincinnati Ave. | 1845 | ||
 | 207 Cincinnati Ave. | 1847 | Gothic-Italian Villa | Constructed by builder and contractor Ezra Craver for wealthy merchant Jacob Egbert. |
 | 220 S Mechanic St. | 1848 | Greek Revival | Commissioned by one of Lebanon's first grocers, John E Dey, for his daughter and son-in-law William F Parshall, himself a successful dry goods merchant and founder of one of Lebanon's first private banks. In 1885 the house was purchased by Judge James Allen Runyan who added a grand wraparound porch among other additions. The Runyans were notorious for their hospitality and hosted numerous parties and events which often included visits from various statesmen and dignitaries. After Runyan's death in 1930, the estate was converted to a nursing home until it was restored as a private residence in 2000. |
 | 119 Cincinnati Ave. | 1848 | ||
 | 229 S Broadway | 1849 | ||
 | 204 & 208 E Orchard Ave. | 1895 & 1890 | Second Empire |
Warren County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 242,337. Its county seat is Lebanon and largest city is Mason. The county is one of Ohio's most affluent, with the highest median income of the state's 88 counties. The county was established on May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County; it is named for Dr. Joseph Warren, a hero of the Revolution who sent Paul Revere and the overlooked William Dawes on their famous rides and who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Warren County is part of the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
Union Township is one of the eleven townships of Warren County, Ohio, United States, located in the central part of the county. It was established January 3, 1815 and named Union as it was formed from parts of Deerfield and Turtlecreek Townships. The population was 6,251 as of the 2020 census.
Hamilton Township is one of the eleven townships of Warren County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the south central portion of the county. The population was 30,587 at the 2020 census.
The Golden Lamb Inn is the oldest hotel in Ohio, having been established in the Warren County seat of Lebanon in 1803. The present four-story structure is built around the 1815 rebuilding of the inn, maintaining its colonial architecture. It is known as the Golden Lamb because that image appeared on its signboard for the benefit of the illiterate. At various times it has been known as the Ownly Hotel, the Bradley House, the Lebanon House, and the Stubbs House.
Kings Mills is a census-designated place in the southwestern corner of Deerfield Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States, on the western shore of the Little Miami River. The population was 1,336 at the 2020 census.
Glendower, now known as Glendower Historic Mansion and Arboretum, is a historic Greek Revival style house located at 105 Cincinnati Avenue, U.S. Route 42, Cincinnati Avenue, in Lebanon, Ohio. It was built in 1836 by Amos Bennett for John Milton Williams, a Lebanon merchant, and named for Owain Glyndŵr. It has been called "one of the finest examples of Residential Greek Revival architecture style in the Midwest."
South Park is a 24-block, 150-acre area of more than 780 structures primarily dating from the 1880s to the early twentieth century. It is located south of downtown Dayton, Ohio, just north of the University of Dayton campus and Woodland Cemetery, and east of Miami Valley Hospital. Mainly residential in character, South Park is significant because of the variety of its architecture, which includes vernacular, cottage, and high style examples, and because of its association with John H. Patterson, founder of the National Cash Register Company.
The Old Jeffersonville Historic District is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, United States. It marks the original boundaries of Jeffersonville, and is the heart of modern-day downtown Jeffersonville. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The area is roughly bounded by Court Avenue at the North, Graham Street on the east, the Ohio River at the south, and Interstate 65 at the west. In total, the district has 203 acres (0.8 km2), 500 buildings, 6 structures, and 11 objects. Several banks are located in the historic buildings in the district. The now defunct Steamboat Days Festival, held on the second weekend in September, used to be held on Spring Street and the waterfront. Jeffersonville's largest fire wiped out a block in the historic district on January 11, 2004 which destroyed the original Horner's Novelty store.
The Oregon Historic District is a neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio. The Oregon District includes one of the earliest surviving combinations of commercial and residential architecture in Dayton. Examples of Dayton's architectural history from 1820 to 1915 line the brick streets and lanes in this 12 square block area. Styles range from Federal to Queen Anne. Excellent examples of late Victorian commercial and residential architecture illustrate both the entrepreneurial success and the increasing affluence of many Oregon merchants and residents. The district is populated with art galleries, specialty shops, pubs, nightclubs, and coffee houses.
East Walnut Hills is a neighborhood on the Southeast side of Cincinnati, Ohio. The population was 4,103 at the 2020 census.
Westwood United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed in 1896 for an established congregation, it has been named a historic site.
Sidney Rose Badgley was a prominent start-of-the-20th-century Canadian-born architect. He was active throughout the United States and Canada, with a significant body of work in Cleveland.
The Beck-Warren House, also known as the Warren House, is a historic house located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Now on the campus of Harvard University, this large Greek Revival wood-frame house was built in 1833 for Professor Charles Beck, and was later purchased and adapted by the physically disabled Henry Clarke Warren, a Sanskrit scholar. Since 1899 it has belonged to Harvard University, for whom it presently houses offices. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The Warren Sweetser House is a historic house at 90 Franklin Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. It is one of the finest Greek Revival houses in Stoneham, recognized as much for its elaborate interior detailing as it is for its exterior features. Originally located at 434 Main Street, it was moved to its present location in 2003 after being threatened with demolition. The house was found to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, but was not listed due to owner objection. In 1990 it was listed as a contributing resource to the Central Square Historic District at its old location. It was listed on its own at its new location in 2005.
Many Neighborhoods of Toledo, Ohio are of historic interest.
The Sheldon Inn was a two-story apartment building located at 44134 Michigan Avenue, in Sheldon Corners in Canton Township, Michigan. It was built in 1825, and previously used as a single-family home and a travelers' inn. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. It was demolished in 2021.
Cincinnati Township is a paper township and former civil township in south-central Hamilton County, Ohio. Originally one of Ohio's largest townships by area at its inception in 1791, it was abolished in 1834 when the City of Cincinnati became coextensive with it through annexation. Since then, it has remained solely as a paper township.