Established | 1996 |
---|---|
Location | 416 Clark Street Cincinnati, OH 45203 |
Type | House Museum |
Accreditation | American Association for State and Local History |
Founder | Martha Tuttle |
Owner | National Society of the Colonial Dames of American in the State of Ohio |
Website | https://bettshousecincinnati.org/ |
The Betts House, built in 1804, is the oldest surviving building in Cincinnati, and the oldest brick home in Ohio. This survivor of Cincinnati's period of settlement offers exhibits and programs that focus on Cincinnati history, historic preservation, and the built environment. In addition to being a house museum, the Betts House is also the headquarters of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Ohio.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(October 2023) |
The Betts House, constructed in 1804, is the oldest brick home in Ohio, and the oldest remaining residential structure in downtown Cincinnati. Originally situated on 111 acres (45 ha), the home was once at the heart of a farm and brick yard. Over time, as the city expanded, the country landscape surrounding the home transitioned to an urban environment. Today, the Betts House is a central structure in the Betts-Longworth Historic District in Cincinnati's West End neighborhood.
In 1795, the home's original owners, William and Phebe Betts, left their home in Rahway, New Jersey to pursue opportunities in the west. The first leg of their journey ended in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where the Bettses lived for a number of years. In 1800, the family decided to resume their push westward on a flatboat, travelling down the Ohio River. Upon arriving in the region, the Betts family attempted to obtain a plot of land in Lebanon; however, the deed proved to be faulty. They then struck out for Cincinnati. There, William Betts obtained a 111-acre plot of land as repayment for a debt owed to him by a local tavern keeper. Construction quickly commenced on a two-room Federal period farmhouse that was completed in 1804. [1]
Over the following decades, four generations of Betts family members called the Betts House home, and raised over two dozen children within its walls. To accommodate the growing family, a number of changes had to be made to the original structure. Between 1804 and 1864, the house more than doubled in size. During this period of expansion, the city of Cincinnati was also growing, and the house's surroundings became an urban neighborhood.
In 1833, the original 111-acre plot was subdivided when William's youngest daughter Eliza turned 21 (as stipulated by his will in 1815). By 1839, the neighborhood had been incorporated by the city of Cincinnati. Expansion continued until nearly every plot of land in the West End was developed, and the population increased to 30,000 people per square mile. By the 1870s, the neighborhood had become dense, while the air was polluted due to its close proximity to the meat packing industry at Mill Creek. During the following decades, many of the residents, including the last of the Betts descendants, moved to hilltop suburbs, such as College Hill.
The once densely populated West End suffered immensely from depopulation; however, it was not long before African Americans began to migrate to the neighborhood. By the beginning of the 20th-century, the area had become the cultural center for African Americans in Cincinnati, and was a major source of nightlife entertainment. The Cotton Club, a jazz establishment named after the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, called the neighborhood home.
Unfortunately, that era did not last for long. By the 1950s, the city of Cincinnati was struggling as residents once again left to nearby suburbs. In an effort to revitalize the downtown area, the City Council devised a plan centered on highway construction. The Kenyon-Barr neighborhood, home to around 25,000 low-income people, was selected for the construction of I-75. Between the late 1950s and early 1960s, almost 1,000 structures were demolished in the name of “urban renewal” leaving many of the neighborhood's African American residents homeless. [2]
In the decades that followed, the West End fell into a state of decay. Many of its older homes, including the Betts House, lay vacant for much of the 1970s and 1980s when urban renewal plans for Queensgate failed.
In 1988, Martha Tuttle, a descendant of William Betts, created a coalition of concerned citizens in an effort to save the house. [3] Two years later, in 1990, they were able to secure the home, and undertook a costly renovation to restore the property to livable condition. For several years following the renovation, the Betts House served as a small apartment complex.
The National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Ohio (NSCDA-OH) became the sole owners of the property in 1994. In 1996, the Betts House was opened to the public as a historic house museum, with exhibits and programs focused on the built environment and early Cincinnati history. The home also serves as the headquarters for the NSCDA-OH.
Clifton is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. The population was 8,408 in the 2020 census.
Dumbarton House is a Federal style house located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was completed around 1800. Its first occupant was Joseph Nourse, the first Register of the Treasury. Dumbarton House, a federal period historic house museum, stands on approximately an acre of gardens on the northern edge of Georgetown, District of Columbia. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Displaying a fine collection of period decorative arts, it gives the visitor a concrete sense of a substantial private residence in the early 1800s. Constructed in 1798–99, the house was a private residence until The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) purchased it for its headquarters in 1928 and gave it the name it has today. In addition to meeting its administrative needs, the NSCDA wanted to illustrate domestic life in Georgetown in the early federal period. To achieve this, its two principal floors were opened to the public as a house museum in 1932, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington.
Union Square is a neighborhood located in the Sowebo area of Baltimore. It dates to the 1830s and includes a historic district of houses and commerce buildings.
Cincinnati, Ohio is home to numerous structures that are noteworthy due to their architectural characteristics or historic associations. The city also boasts Fountain Square and a riverfront that is being revitalized under The Banks project.
East Walnut Hills is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in 1867 and annexed in 1873, it is located in the eastern side of the city. The population was 4,103 at the 2020 census.
Wesley Chapel was a Methodist church in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1831 on the north side of Fifth Street between Broadway and Sycamore, it was a simple red brick Georgian structure copied after John Wesley's original Methodist church in London. With 1,200 seats, it was the largest meeting place west of the Alleghenies and the largest building in Cincinnati for many years. It was the seat of Methodism in Cincinnati.
The Kemper Log House is a two-story, double pen log house, which was built in 1804 by the Reverend James Kemper on Kemper Lane, in the Walnut Hills neighborhood. It was occupied by members of the Kemper family until 1897. It is one of the oldest houses built in Cincinnati, Ohio that is still standing. The house was moved in 1912 to the Cincinnati Zoo and then relocated at Heritage Village Museum in Sharon Woods. Its operation is coordinated with Historic Southwest Ohio, which maintains the village.
Police Station Five was a historic police station in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Constructed in the 1890s to serve both regular police and the city's patrol service, it was named a historic site in the late twentieth century, but historic designation was unable to save it from destruction.
The Henry Powell House is a historic house in the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the mid-19th century, it experienced a radical transformation near the end of the century under the direction of a leading regional architect. This French-style residence has been named a historic site.
Louisville, Kentucky is home to numerous structures that are noteworthy due to their architectural characteristics or historic associations, the most noteworthy being the Old Louisville neighborhood, the third largest historic preservation district in the United States. The city also boasts the postmodern Humana Building and an expanding Waterfront Park which has served to remove the former industrial appearance of the riverfront.
New St. Joseph Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located at West Eighth Street and Nebraska Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio in the Price Hill neighborhood. The original Old St. Joseph's Cemetery was founded at West Eight Street & Enright Avenue, in 1843 by Rev. John Baptist Purcell, for English speaking Catholics. The new cemetery was created in 1853 following the cholera outbreak which began in 1849, as the Irish section of St. Joseph Cemetery had reached its capacity, the new cemetery was located two miles (3 km) west. The Old St. Joseph's Cemetery, was used mostly by German Catholics.
Queensgate is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. It sits in the valley of Downtown Cincinnati and is dominated by industrial and commercial warehouses. Cincinnati's nickname of "Porkopolis" started here with hog slaughtering in the early 19th century.
Mount Airy is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. The neighborhood is home to Mount Airy Forest, one of the oldest urban reforestation projects in the country. The population was 9,210 at the 2020 census.
West End is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally a large residential neighborhood, the majority of the area was demolished in the mid-20th century for the construction of highway interchanges and an industrial park known as Queensgate. The population was 6,824 at the 2020 census.
Walnut Hills is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. One of the city's oldest hilltop neighborhoods, it is a large diverse area on the near east side of Cincinnati. The population was 6,344 in the 2020 census.
The architecture of St. Louis exhibits a variety of commercial, residential, and monumental architecture. St. Louis, Missouri is known for the Gateway Arch, the tallest monument constructed in the United States. Architectural influences reflected in the area include French Colonial, German, early American, European influenced, French Second Empire, Victorian, and modern architectural styles.
The South End–Groesbeckville Historic District is located in part of the neighborhood of that name in Albany, New York, United States. It is a 26-block, 57-acre (23 ha) area south of the Mansion and Pastures neighborhoods with a mix of residential and commercial properties. In 1984 it was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Cincinnati riots of 1836 were caused by racial tensions at a time when African Americans, some of whom had escaped from slavery in the Southern United States, were competing with whites for jobs. The racial riots occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States in April and July 1836 by a mob of whites against black residents. These were part of a pattern of violence at that time. A severe riot had occurred in 1829, led by ethnic Irish, and another riot against blacks broke out in 1841. After the Cincinnati riots of 1829, in which many African Americans lost their homes and property, a growing number of whites, such as the "Lane rebels" who withdrew from the Cincinnati Lane Seminary en masse in 1834 over the issue of abolition, became sympathetic to their plight. The anti-abolitionist rioters of 1836, worried about their jobs if they had to compete with more blacks, attacked both the blacks and white supporters.
The Betts–Longworth Historic District is located just northwest of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The district consists of a ten-block sub-neighborhood of the historic West End of Cincinnati that contains Federal, Italianate and Queen Anne styles. The Betts House located at 416 Clark Street was built in 1804 and is the oldest brick house in Ohio. The Old Jewish Cemetery, Cincinnati is also located in the district.
Cincinnati, a Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors, American Guide Series, The Weisen-Hart Press, May 1943, page 228.