Mountain House (Chillicothe, Ohio)

Last updated
Mountain House

Mountain House in late autumn.jpg

Street view of the Mountain House
USA Ohio location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Highland Ave., Chillicothe, Ohio
Coordinates 39°19′55″N82°59′29″W / 39.33194°N 82.99139°W / 39.33194; -82.99139 Coordinates: 39°19′55″N82°59′29″W / 39.33194°N 82.99139°W / 39.33194; -82.99139
Area less than one acre
Built 1852
Architect Oscar Janssen
Architectural style Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival
NRHP reference # 78002181 [1]
Added to NRHP December 29, 1978

The Mountain House is a historic Gothic Revival house in western Chillicothe, Ohio, United States. [1] It was built by German immigrant Oscar Janssen in 1852, sitting atop a bluff above the Scioto River and the rest of the city of Chillicothe; its location and architectural style were intended to resemble that of castles overlooking the Rhine in his homeland. Janssen surrounded his house with vineyards, a winery, and a beer garden; because of the house's location on the edge of a steep hillside, he terraced the hillside before developing it. After Janssen's lifetime, the Mountain House passed into the hands of designer and papermaker Dard Hunter. Purchasing the house in 1919, Hunter converted it into a production center for his handmade paper and hand-carven type. Here he produced a wide range of books, publishing them under the banner of the Mountain House Press, and gradually he built a worldwide reputation. [2]

Gothic Revival architecture Architectural movement

Gothic Revival is an architectural movement popular in the Western world that began in the late 1740s in England. Its popularity grew rapidly in the early 19th century, when increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval Gothic architecture, in contrast to the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival draws features from the original Gothic style, including decorative patterns, finials, lancet windows, hood moulds and label stops.

Chillicothe, Ohio City in Ohio, United States

Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio.

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.

The two-story Mountain House mixes various architectural styles and materials. Although it is primarily a Gothic Revival structure, with details such as Gothic arches for windows and doors, it also includes a significant number of Romanesque Revival elements. [2] Its brick walls rest on a stone foundation, [3] and the interior may be accessed through large wooden doors. [2]

Storey level part of a building that could be used by people

A storey or story is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people. The plurals are "storeys" and "stories", respectively.

Ogive roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object

An ogive is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking.

Romanesque Revival architecture style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century

Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, however, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to feature more simplified arches and windows than their historic counterparts.

In 1978, the Mountain House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1] It qualified for this distinction both because of its well-preserved historic architecture and because of its connection to Hunter, who was seen as a significant person in local history. [3] Today, the house remains in use as the offices of the Mountain House Press. [4]

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Related Research Articles

Dard Hunter American authority on printing, paper, and papermaking

William Joseph "Dard" Hunter was an American authority on printing, paper, and papermaking, especially by hand, using sixteenth century tools and techniques. He is known for, among other things, the production of two hundred copies of his book Old Papermaking, for which he prepared all aspects: Hunter wrote the text, designed and cast the type, did the typesetting, handmade the paper, and printed and bound the book. A display at the Smithsonian Institution that appeared with his work read, "In the entire history of printing, these are the first books to have been made in their entirety by the labors of one man." He also wrote Papermarking by Hand in America (1950), a similar but even larger undertaking.

John S. Baker House

The John S. Baker House is a historic house in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1854 according to a design by Cincinnati architect James Keys Wilson, it was the home of New Jersey native John S. Baker, who settled in Cincinnati in 1814.

Old Gothic Barns

The Old Gothic Barns were a pair of historic agricultural buildings near the city of Cincinnati in Green Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. Built in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, they were designated a historic site in the 1970s because of their distinctive architecture.

Fitz Randolph–Rogers House

The Fitz Randolph–Rogers House is a historic farmhouse located outside the city of Hamilton in Butler County, Ohio, United States. Constructed during the 1840s, it was home to a well-known diarist of the 1860s, and it has been designated a historic site.

James P. Hidley Cottage building in Ohio, United States

The James P. Hidley Cottage is a small Carpenter Gothic house in western Butler County, Ohio, United States. Erected in 1860, the house is important as one of the area's few houses of its style, and it has been named a historic site.

Hunting Lodge Farm building in Ohio, United States

Hunting Lodge Farm is a historic house located near Oxford in Oxford Township, Butler County, Ohio, United States. Constructed as a hunting lodge, it has been used by multiple prominent local residents, and its distinctive architecture has made it worthy of designation as a historic site.

Elias Kumler House registered historic building in Oxford, Ohio

The Elias Kumler House is a historic residence in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1850s, it was originally the home of Elias Kumler, who held large influence at multiple educational institutions in Oxford. The house has been continuously used for residential purposes, and it has been named a historic site.

Trinity Episcopal Church (McArthur, Ohio)

Trinity Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Church in McArthur, Ohio, United States. The parish worships in a historic church located at the intersection of Sugar and High Streets; built in the nineteenth century, it has been designated a historic site.

St. Augustines Catholic Church (Napoleon, Ohio)

St. Augustine's Catholic Church is a historic church in Napoleon, Ohio, United States. Located on the edge of the city's downtown, two blocks away from the Henry County Courthouse, the church is a prominent landmark in Napoleon.

St. Remys Catholic Church church building in Ohio, United States of America

St. Remy's Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Russia, Ohio, United States. Built in 1890, it continues to house an active parish, and it has been recognized as a historic site because of its architecture.

Windsor Mills Christ Church Episcopal church building in Ohio, United States of America

Windsor Mills Christ Church Episcopal is a historic former church building in Windsor Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. Built in the 1830s, it features a distinctive combination of two different architectural styles, and it has been named a historic site.

St. Louis Catholic Church (North Star, Ohio) church building in Ohio, United States of America

St. Louis' Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in North Star, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the early twentieth century, it is one of the newest churches in a heavily Catholic region of far western Ohio, but it has been recognized as a historic site because of its unique architecture.

Van Wert Bandstand

The Van Wert Bandstand is a historic gazebo in Van Wert, a city in the far western portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Built in 1874, this octagonal bandstand is a wooden structure crafted in the High Gothic Revival style. Among its most distinctive elements is its two-part roof: rising to a central point, the steep roof is split between upper and lower portions by a double cornice with an ornate frieze. Elaborate design continues down below the roof: the eaves underneath the roof's base rest upon carven brackets, which are secured to pillars whose capitals are trimmed with a sawtooth pattern. Finally, the entire roof is supported by a cross-shaped structure that features elements such as three musical notes.

Tanglewood (Chillicothe, Ohio) building in Ohio, United States

Tanglewood is a historic house on the western side of Chillicothe, Ohio, United States. Built in 1850, it features a combination of the Greek Revival and Italianate styles of architecture, and it is one of the best preserved examples of the rare "monitor" style of residential design.

Chillicothe Water and Power Company Pumping Station

The Chillicothe Water and Power Company Pumping Station is a historic building on the northern side of Chillicothe, Ohio, United States. A Gothic Revival structure built in 1881, it was constructed to house the city's waterworks and power plant. Its architecture and its location in Yoctangee Park was chosen specifically in order to beautify the park as well as to have a location near other elements of the city's first waterworks, which were built at the same time as the pumping station.

Vanmeter Church Street House

The Vanmeter Church Street House is a historic house located along Church Street in Chillicothe, Ohio, United States. Built in 1848 in the Greek Revival style of architecture, it was erected by farmer William H. Thompson. Just eight years after its completion, the house was bought by Whig Party politician John I. Vanmeter, a Virginia native who had lived in Ross County for thirty years. After serving in both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate during the 1830s, Vanmeter served a single term in the United States House of Representatives from 1843 to 1845.

Anthony and Susan Cardinal Walke House

The Anthony and Susan Cardinal Walke House is a historic residence on the west side of Chillicothe, Ohio, United States. Erected around 1812, it is a Colonial Revival house built in the style of the early post-independence period of the United States. Its builders, like many other early residents of Chillicothe, were natives of Virginia who brought much of their cultural heritage with them to the Old Northwest.

Zion Episcopal Church (Monroeville, Ohio) church building in Ohio, United States of America

Zion Episcopal Church is a historic Protestant Episcopal parish in the village of Monroeville, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1860s in the regionally unusual Carpenter Gothic style, the church building has been named a historic site.

First Unitarian Church of Marietta church building in Marietta, United States of America

The First Unitarian Church of Marietta is a historic Unitarian Universalist church in the city of Marietta, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1869, it uses a building constructed in 1858 for one of its two predecessor churches; this building's high-quality architecture has led to its designation as a historic site.

Reamer Barn

The Reamer Barn is a historic barn near the village of Oberlin in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Constructed at the end of the nineteenth century, it was built to house a gentleman farmer's cattle herd, and it has been named a historic site because of its distinctive architecture.

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 Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1222.
  3. 1 2 Mountain House, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2010-09-01.
  4. Mountain House Press, Mountain House Press, n.d. Accessed 2010-09-01.