Josiah Kirby House

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Josiah Kirby House

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Front of the house
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Location 65 Oliver Rd., Wyoming, Ohio
Coordinates 39°13′54″N84°28′27″W / 39.23167°N 84.47417°W / 39.23167; -84.47417 Coordinates: 39°13′54″N84°28′27″W / 39.23167°N 84.47417°W / 39.23167; -84.47417
Area 1.1 acres (0.45 ha)
Built 1890
Architectural style Queen Anne, Shingle Style
MPS Wyoming MRA
NRHP reference # 86001634 [1]
Added to NRHP August 25, 1986

The Josiah Kirby House is a historic residence in the city of Wyoming, Ohio, United States. Erected in the late nineteenth century, it was originally the home of a prominent Cincinnati-area businessman and politician, and it has been designated a historic site.

Wyoming, Ohio City in Ohio, United States

Wyoming is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, in the far southwest corner of the state. The population was 8,428 at the 2010 census.

Ohio State of the United States of America

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Of the fifty states, it is the 34th largest by area, the seventh most populous, and the tenth most densely populated. The state's capital and largest city is Columbus.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Contents

Josiah Kirby

Josiah Kirby was one of the Cincinnati metropolitan area's leading industrialists in the late nineteenth century. Having invented multiple kinds of heavy machinery, he held high executive positions with two different railroad companies and served a term as the president of the Cincinnati Board of Trade. These prominent positions led him to become involved in politics; he was elected to the Ohio Senate, [2] where he served from 1880 to 1881. [3]

Business magnate entrepreneur who has achieved wealth and prominence from a particular industry (or industries)

A business magnate or industrialist is an entrepreneur of great influence, importance, or standing in a particular enterprise or field of business. The term characteristically refers to a wealthy entrepreneur or investor who controls, through personal business ownership or dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or services are widely consumed. Such individuals may also be called czars, moguls, proprietors, tycoons, taipans, barons, or oligarchs.

Chamber of commerce organization for the promotion of business interests

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, for example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community. Local businesses are members, and they elect a board of directors or executive council to set policy for the chamber. The board or council then hires a President, CEO or Executive Director, plus staffing appropriate to size, to run the organization.

Ohio Senate Upper House of the Ohio-ligislature

The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the seats are contested at each election. Even numbered seats and odd numbered seats are contested in separate election years. The President of the Ohio Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Larry Obhof.

Historic context

Good transportation is a leading reason for Wyoming's prosperity. The city lies near the old pre-statehood road that connected Cincinnati with locations farther north, such as Fort Hamilton and Fallen Timbers. Curves in the road were cut off in 1806, forming a new road that is today followed by Springfield Pike through central Wyoming. Improvements in the 1830s only enhanced its importance. [4] :9 By this time, another mode of transportation had become significant: the Miami and Erie Canal was built a short distance to the east in 1828, and the village of Lockland grew up along its side. Railroads reached the city in 1851 with the construction of the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad on the border between Lockland and Wyoming. [4] :10

Cincinnati City in Ohio

Cincinnati is a major city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is the government seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The city drives the Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington combined statistical area, which had a population of 2,172,191 in the 2010 census making it Ohio's largest metropolitan area. With a population of 296,943, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 65th in the United States. Its metropolitan area is the fastest growing economic power in the Midwestern United States based on increase of economic output and it is the 28th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. Cincinnati is also within a day's drive of 49.70% of the United States populace.

Hamilton, Ohio City in Ohio, United States

Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the state's southwestern corner, located 20 miles north of Cincinnati. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Hamilton has three designated National Historic Districts: Dayton Lane, German Village, and Rossville.

Battle of Fallen Timbers Battle fought in 1794

The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and a British company, against the United States for control of the Northwest Territory. The battle took place amid trees toppled by a tornado just north of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio at the site of the present-day city of Maumee. Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne's Legion of the United States along with Gen. Charles Scott's Kentucky Militia were victorious against a combined Native American force of Shawnee under Blue Jacket, Miami under Little Turtle, and numerous others. The battle ended major hostilities in the region. This resulted in British and Indian withdrawal from the southern Great Lakes, western Ohio and northeastern Indiana following the Treaty of Greenville and Jay's Treaty.

Because of Wyoming's proximity to the industry of Lockland, its easy transportation to the booming city of Cincinnati, and its pleasant scenery, many wealthy industrialists purchased local farms and built grand country houses. [4] :11 Most such houses were built in the Wyoming Hills area, west of Springfield Pike; [4] :12 growth in this area continued until the coming of the Great Depression. [4] :2 Kirby was typical of these rich industrialists, building a large house and commuting to Cincinnati daily. [2]

Great Depression 20th-century worldwide economic depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.

Architecture

Kirby's Wyoming house was built in 1890 in a Shingle-style variant of the Queen Anne style of architecture. [1] Featuring a weatherboarded exterior and a stone foundation and a slate roof, [5] it is a frame building, two-and-a-half stories tall. Among its notable elements are various Neoclassical details, windows of high-quality art glass, and a verandah with columns in the Beaux-Arts style. Overall, the house is a mix of styles, mingling older styles with the latest in floor plans. [2]

Foundation (engineering) lowest and supporting layer of a structure

In engineering, a foundation is the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep. Foundation engineering is the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics in the design of foundation elements of structures.

Slate A fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, weakly metamorphic rock

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. Foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering, but instead is in planes perpendicular to the direction of metamorphic compression.

Framing (construction) in construction, is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape

Framing, in construction, is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape. Framing materials are usually wood, engineered wood, or structural steel. The alternative to framed construction is generally called mass wall construction, where horizontal layers of stacked materials such as log building, masonry, rammed earth, adobe, etc. are used without framing.

Weatherboarding was a typical exterior for large Wyoming houses: brick was far more common in most of southwestern Ohio, but the importance of lumber mills in Lockland and the fact that many mill owners lived in Wyoming caused wood to become the exterior of choice for most houses in Wyoming and the nearby communities of Hartwell and Glendale. Also common to many of the area's houses was the presence of art glass, which many residences feature in large parlor windows. [4] :12

Hartwell, Cincinnati neighborhood in northern Cincinnati, Ohio

Hartwell is a neighborhood in northern Cincinnati, Ohio, centered roughly on the intersections of I-75 and Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway. Its boundaries are a combination of Caldwell Park and Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway to the south, I-75 to the east, and a combination of Millsdale Road and Compton Road to the North. The population was 4,640 at the 2010 census.

Glendale, Ohio Village in Ohio, United States

Glendale is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,155 at the 2010 census. It is site of the Glendale Historic District.

Recognition

Since Kirby ceased to live in the house, it has seen very few changes: both the interior and exterior are remarkably similar to their original condition. [2]

In 1979, a local historic preservation group began a citywide survey to identify Wyoming's historic buildings, [4] :3 and this effort culminated with a multiple property submission of eighteen houses, the Wyoming Presbyterian Church, and one historic district to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. [4] :18 Along with all but one of the other properties, the Josiah Kirby House was listed on the Register in the following year, [1] qualifying because of its historically significant architecture and its place as the home of a leading local citizen. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 619.
  3. ↑ Gilkey, Elliot Howard. The Ohio Hundred Year Book . Columbus: State of Ohio, 1901, 278.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McCauley, Jennifer. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: The Historic Resources of Wyoming, Ohio . National Park Service, 1985-08-16. Accessed 2011-02-26.
  5. 1 2 Kirby, Josiah, House, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2011-02-26.
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