Start at The Norfolk and Western Depot …
The walk is 1.8 miles long and takes ap- proximately 45 minutes.
1. The Depot, Bobby Bare Boulevard and Park Avenue
Designed by Edward G. Frye of Virginia, the Norfolk and Western Depot was known to be the center of area stations. The richness of classical detailing makes it one of Southern Ohio’s finest examples of the Neoclassical Revival architecture. A freight and passenger station during the 1900s, the Depot hosted many famous people, including Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Projecting from the central block is a three- bay pediment portico with four fluted columns resting on stone pedestals. The entrances, protected by the portico, have cosseted stone architraves adorned with bead and reel mold- ing. The double doors are plain with a single vertical glass pane in each door.
The interior has wooden wainscoting. Plasters and decorative pediments have been removed for anticipated remodeling. It has a classically ornate cove ceiling with egg and dart molding. Along the sides of the main room are the original light fixtures, initially gas-fu- eled. In the past, there was a walkout porch area in the back where passengers would walk out to board their train. Trains quit running in 1965. A new restaurant, The Depot, opened in 2014 featuring a combination of Asian, Ameri- can, Italian and Thai cuisine.
A recent $2.1 million improvement included the Transit Center, the multi-use shelter for the Farmer’s Market and events such as Rally on the River, which draws about 30,000 bikers. The Depot Square is again the hub of activity in downtown. Check out the Friends of Ironton Sprayground in season.
From the Depot, walk east on Park Avenue. Notice many historic businesses down South 2nd Street, including Iron City Hardware and Central Hardware and Fur- niture. Continue east on Park Avenue past the First National Bank building (the tallest in downtown Ironton), and turn left (North) at 4th Street to walk past the Courthouse. Walk on the Courthouse side of the street.
2. The Lawrence County Courthouse, 111 S. 4th St.
Lawrence County’s first courthouse was built in Burlington in 1818 before moving to Ironton. The current courthouse, a sprawling Greek Revival style federal building, was started in 1906 and finished in 1907.
History seeps out into the lawn. An 8-foot replica of an iron furnace stands beside a 1973 Ohio Historical Society plaque filled with furnace history. Next to World War II artillery pieces guarding the lawn is another interesting replica, an 8-foot Statue of Liberty, dedicated in 1951 by local Boy Scouts.
American Legion Post 433 built a Vietnam War Memorial on the lawn corner.
The only known hanging in Ironton occurred at the Courthouse at 11:05 a.m. April 6, 1869. Andrew Price, a citizen of Ironton, was hanged for the murder of Louis Hilgenburg, a wealthy Jackson man. It took 20 minutes hanging from the noose for Price to be pronounced dead.
Keep walking up north 4th Street. Cross Railroad Street.
3. Memorial Hall, 403 Railroad St.
Civil War history is found here as this building was built in 1892 as a memorial to the G.A.R. (The Grand Army of the Republic), the Union veterans of the Civil War. The building was partially destroyed by a fire in 1905 and survived the floods of 1913 and 1937. It was boarded up more than a dozen years ago when city offices were moved to the J.C. Penney Building. In the summer of 2014, the building was deconstructed with the original arches, pillars and foundation to be saved and incorporated into the veterans memorial park, slated to be built in its place.
Turn right, or east, on Lawrence Street.
4. James Fraley Staab, House, 416 Lawrence St
Ironton’s oldest home was built by John Glidden in 1840, nine years before Ironton
was organized. A furnace operator, Glidden purchased the land from the Ohio Coal and Iron Company and built what was considered a mansion. This gray house showcases original cast-iron railed balconies featuring a grape design and that evoke a feeling of walking the narrow streets of New Orleans’ French Quar- ter. The Greek Revival or national style home has a gable or hipped, low-sloped roof with a wide band of trim, bold, simple moldings and columns. In the 1890s, Glidden sold the house to James Fraley. In 1905, Henry L. Staab purchased it. A butcher, Staab worked at his slaughterhouse on the same block. After the death of Staab and his wife, their daughters, Verona and Katharine, continued to live in
the house and owned it until 1968. In 1979, Katharine, the last living Staab, passed away at age 90. The house has been maintained by Nancy Meyers, who has kept it authentic to the 1840s, and who remembers visits by Katharine Staab, a schoolteacher.
On Lawrence, stop at the corner of North 5th Street in front of the yellow bricked John Campbell House. From here, you can see across the street the red-bricked Moul- ton House and halfway up the block, the blue-gray bricked Hiram Campbell House.
5. Colonel J.H. Moulton
Located directly across from the John Campbell House and diagonally across
from the Hiram Campbell House, the Col.
J.H. Moulton Home, which is made of red brick, is known today as the Cottingham-Day Apartments. Built sometime in the 1850s, it was a residence of J.H. Moulton and his wife, Elizabeth, a daughter of Hiram Campbell. Moulton and his father-in-law formed Campbell and Sons Company, which constructed iron furnaces. Moulton was a pioneer ironmaster and started Sarah Furnace, which was not completed until after Campbell’s death in 1876. John Moulton, 67, passed away in 1910.
The four-chimney house is a Gothic Revival or High Victorian Gothic Style. Borrowing de- tails from medieval architecture, this irregular shaped home is 2 1/2 stories tall. The roof is gable or metal, and dormers are protruding from it. The frieze under the roof is set off by a scalloped design. A boxed turret can be found toward the back of the building along with a double-leafed paneled main entrance in front.
6. The John Campbell House, 305 N. 5th St.
This extravagant 22-room home was built in 1850 and owned by Ironton’s founder, John Campbell. Built with bricks dried from the
clay that the house sits on, the house (whose bricks are now painted a vibrant yellow) covers one-fourth of a city block with the original Puddle Iron fence that is still standing.
Once Baker Funeral Home and today the Bicentennial Commission and the Lawrence County Community Action Agency, the home is long steeped in social justice.
Campbell was a staunch abolitionist and used the cavernous home as a main stop on the Underground Railroad, helping slaves cross the Ohio River to freedom. Fugitives were placed in two semi-concealed rooms under the house’s hip roof and in the carriage home nearby. Furnace wagons transported escapees north by way of Campbell’s furnaces in Lawrence and Jackson counties.
A Georgetown, Ohio, native, Campbell
first helped run a steamboat business before meeting pioneer iron man Robert Hamilton on a trip to Pittsburgh. In 1832, Campbell started as a clerk at Pinegrove Furnace. In 1833, he built the Hanging Rock Forge with Hamilton and assisted building Lawrence Furnace. He would build dozens more, including Greenup Furnace and the Olive and Gallia Furnaces. In 1849, John organized the Ohio Iron and Coal Co., and felt there needed to be a town.
By 1851, he had established Ironton — “iron by the ton.” June 20 was the first land sale. He would go on to build half a dozen more furnaces. Campbell and Elizabeth raised six children at the home. The home still has a few cherry and marble fireplaces, and leading up to the second and third floor is a solid black, walnut staircase.
7. The Hiram Campbell House, 321 N. 5th St.
Painted now in a grayish-blue brick, this home was built in the 1850s. Its first owner was Hiram Campbell, the brother of Ironton founder John Campbell. He and his wife, Sarah, who had five children, entertained many special guests, in- cluding the 19th president, Rutherford B. Hayes.
He worked as a clerk at the Mt. Vernon Fur- nace for 17 years before becoming the owner. He then created Sarah Furnace, named after his wife. Hiram was one of the first trustees
of Woodland Cemetery, where he is buried. He was also director of the Old Iron Bank, the Ohio Iron and Coal Company and the Iron Railroad Company. Having contacts in North Carolina, Campbell introduced persimmon trees to Ironton, sent here from the North Carolina Gold Mine of John Peebles.
The house, now apartments, represents
a French 2nd Empire Style architecture. The style, named for Napoleon, spread through the U.S. during the late 1700s and early 1800s and was known for the mansard roof and asymmet- rical facades.
Walk back south on North 5th Street to the intersection with Lawrence. Gaze south down the block to see the Campbells’ church, First Presbyterian. Feel free to walk halfway down the block for a closer inspection.
8. First Presbyterian Church, 201 N. 5th St.
The high brick walls and the tall tower of the First Presbyterian Church of Ironton are a land- mark in Ironton. The oldest part of the church
building is on land that was donated to the church by the Ohio Iron and Coal Company. Organized on July 27, 1850, with 14 members, the church was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day 1852. In 1873, a new church building was begun. The new construction was finished in 1882. The old building was converted into the Sunday School.
First Pres is known for its magnificent stained glass window in the center of the church’s south gable. It is an eloquent witness to the relation- ship of this church with the founding fathers
of the city. It was given by Hiram Campbell in memory of his brother, John Milton Campbell, a missionary who served in Africa and died there. Hiram was an Elder, and John was a Trustee.
Continue walking east on Lawrence, check out the amazing gardens at 510 Law- rence St. Stop at the corner of Lawrence and North 6th Street or continue just a
bit into this block to see more of the Horn House, which is shrouded in trees.
9. The Lantem-Horn House, 605 Lawrence St.
This small but sturdy Federal-Greek Revival house was built by bricks from Lawrence Street by a Mr. Lantem, whose wife was one
of the original schoolteachers in Ironton. The home’s second owner, Henry Horn, moved into the home in 1891 and lived there for 85 years, maintaining its original condition. A jack of all trades, he was a butcher, a machine shop worker who organized a shop union and a roofer. In fact, he applied shingles to the roof of Nannie Kelley Wright’s home. Wright was the first woman ironmaster in the world.
The home has the original doors and locks. In 1924, a garage was added to store Henry Horn’s first automobile. Extending across the entire front of this home is a portico porch that is supported by two separate columns. Resting behind the porch are three bay openings, where you can peer across Lawrence Street. There are also two bay openings located on the sides of this home.
Turn right, and start walking south down North 6th Street until you reach Center, where three historic churches are within sight.
10. St. Lawrence O’Toole Catholic Church, 609 6th and Center streets
ohn Campbell’s Ohio Iron and Coal Company gave the property for a new church building requested by Irish settlers. In 1887, the foundation to the new church was laid for about $5,000. The cornerstone was officially laid during a ceremony July 4, 1891. The entire church was built in 1892. The new church had a seating capacity of 950 and cost $35,000.
The gigantic Catholic church’s architecture is Gothic with some ties to Gothic Roman- esque. This style of architecture presents the feel of medieval buildings. Gothic style shows statues and large stained glass windows, with Gothic Romanesque having thick walls and large towers. The idea of the building is to appear as a fortress and, indeed, it seems that way as the church is 118 feet tall.
Through these main doors is one of the most beautiful buildings in Southern Ohio. Throughout the church, there are many circular and tracery stained glass windows imported from Rome that allow the natural
sunlight to illuminate the sanctuary.
One is awed by the beauty of the dome, and newly installed floodlights reveal its full
artistic treatment. Oil paintings, completed on canvas, decorate the ceiling. One was done by Obediah J. Kover when he was 81.
A Mexican onyx altar lies in the sanctu-
ary, and the wall construction is brick set
in stretcher bonding. This also displays the corbeling treatment. Renovations to the church took place in 1918, 1946 and 1969. In 2001,
a donation was made to the restoration of the St. Patrick window, the giant circular window above the main entrance. Restoration to the church, including the St. Patrick window, began in 2011 and is ongoing.
11. St. Paul Lutheran Church, 6th and Center streets
This one-story brick carpenter Gothic was built in 1903 by the German Lutherans, who first organized in Hanging Rock in 1844.
Turn right, or west, on Center Street and walk to South 5th Street.
12. First United Methodist, 5th and Center streets
During the 1850s and 1860s a Spencer Chapel was on this site with attendance of about 90 people. But church attendance skyrocketed, and in 1893 the First United Methodist Church was constructed. On May 7, 1893, after just being built, it held around 1,500 people for the Feast
of Dedication. According to Dr. Wayne Young, pastor of the church, the Feast of Dedication was a “big party for the church beginning.” The architecture of the church is called High Victorian Gothic and favors heavy, structural detailing.
The First United Methodist Church has some interesting architectural features including three large stained glass windows in the sanctuary called Rose Windows that were dedicated to folks who had passed away.
The church also has a curved chancel
rail, also known as the altar rail. The rail was soaked nearly one year to obtain the perfect curve for its installation. The rail is still present in the church today. A third interesting feature is the rear sanctuary and balcony seats from the original Spencer Chapel, built in 1852.
Turn left and start walking south on South 5th Street past the other side of the courthouse and the current jail.
13. The Old Post Office, 5th and Center streets
Built in 1913, this second Renaissance Revival stone structure was handed over to the Ironton Board of Education in 1969 when a new post office was built at 4th and Railroad streets.
14. Christ Episcopal Church, S. 5th Street and Park Avenue
Built in 1896, this Gothic Revival stone church features exposed beams in the chapel and has multiple circular and tracery stained glass windows, which you get an up-close view of walking by on the 5th Street.
Cross Park Avenue (the busy main artery into Ironton) and keep walking south on South 5th Street. Stop at the intersection with Vernon Street to check out the massive Gateway Baptist Church.
15. First Congregational Church (Gateway Baptist Church), 310 S. 6th St.
From 5th Street you can look down the block and see this massive American Gothic church built in 1873 and dubbed the “church of the Ironmaster,” since John Campbell attended here. The building is built in the shape of a cross and originally had 80-foot bell towers, which were taken down when the one of the towers was hit by lightning in 1976. In 1975, Gateway Baptist bought the building, whose walls are two-feet- thick in some places It’s had some famous visitors, including the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
Keep walking up South 5th Street.
16. The Marting Lowry House, 419 S. 5th St.
The Greek Revival home was built in the early 1900s by Colonel H.A. Marting. Sadly, Colonel Marting died before the house was completed. His widow, Margaret Duis Marting, occupied the house. Their daughter, Nellie Marting, managed the estate.
An Ironton High School graduate, Nellie married Andrew Clark Lowry, successful doctor and businessman. They formed the Ironton Ho- tel Company and constructed the Marting Hotel. Many of his other accomplishments included being president and director of the Marting Hotel, Foster Stove Company, Marting Iron and Steel Company, Citizens National Bank and First National Bank. Lowry was a large support- er of Ironton and campaigned to raise money for the Ironton-Russell Bridge. Passing away on March 1, 1924, Andrew left his businesses to Nellie, who continued to manage and run them verywell.ShepassedonMay12,1937.
The Marting Lowry home has a Greek Re- vival Architecture to it, not strictly sticking to just this style, but having enough qualities that you can see this architecture. In the home, there is a low-pitch roof and a classical entablature on the porches. This style of home was first used by Thomas Jefferson to design Monticello. He believed that the architecture was a symbol, and it represented colonial exploitation.
When you reach Adams Street, stop and take a long look at Bide-A-Wee, the massive stone house across the street.Then take
a left walking east one block to South
6th Street, which is the parade route for Ironton’s Memorial Day parade, the nation’s longest continuous Memorial Day Parade. It draws about 2,000 participants and more than 30,000 visitors.
17. Bide-A-Wee, 504 S. 5th St.
Bide-A-Wee, which means “Stay a while” in Ireland, is an English style Queen Anne designed house that was once home to the world’s only known female ironmaster.
The home was built by Edward James Bird Sr., who passed away before it was completed. His widow sold it to Edwin Bixby, president of First National Bank. After he passed away, Mrs. Bixby sold the home in 1918 to one of Ironton’s most famous women, Nannie Kelley Wright. Wright moved to Ironton, where she married Lindsey Kelly, an Ohio state representative. They had one son, Lindsey Kelley Jr., but father and son died in 1902 and 1903.
She bought Centre Furnace and 12,000 acres surrounding it for $19,500 in 1899. She owned and ran the furnace from 1899 to 1906.
She was married to her second husband,
Daniel Wright, from 1906 to 1919. In 1918, Wright purchased Bide-A-Wee, remodeling the inside with things accumulated during her world travels. Among the things collected were two Italian fireplace mantels that are made of marble and hand- carved wood. Wright ended up building another historic Ironton home, The Mearan House (917 S. 6th St.). On Dec. 12, 1946, at the age of 90, Nannie Kelley Wright died in Ironton at the Marting Hotel.
The present owners of Bide-A-Wee are Judge Richard Walton and his wife. Walton was a judge of the Lawrence County Common Pleas Court and retired in 2006. Walton’s grandparents, Brook and Elizabeth, purchased Bide-A-Wee in 1945 and sold it to Walton’s parents, Norman and Editha Wal- ton, in 1947. In 1978, Judge Walton and his wife purchased the house from his parents.
Stop at the corner of 6th and Adams streets. Across the street is the Wilson House, and on the corner is the massive Col. Gray House, home to the Lawrence County Historical Society.
18. The Wilson House, 422 6th St.
Did you know President Woodrow Wilson once watched the annual Memorial Day Parade at this elegant Queen Anne style home? Peering over the balcony railings, Woodrow Wilson had front row seats because of the view overlooking all of 6th Street.
The Wilson House was built in the 1880s. Dr. Dewitt C. Wilson was the architect of this home. Dr. Wilson ran the Ball-Warfield Drug Company. He developed friendships with many artisans and builders who were able to add uniqueness to this home. Pat and Tarry Barron now live at this location. Mr. Barron has a farm in Africa and hunts big game on his reserve with his brother. Some of these animals include the cape buffalo, zebra and wild boar, which are mounted on the inside walls of this home. Mrs. Barron’s uncle, David Payne, previously lived in this home for approximately 20 years. Payne is a well known judge in Ironton.
19. Col. George Gray House, 506 S. 6th St.
Home to the Lawrence County Historical Society and Museum since 1988, this 1870-built Italian villa is filled with history. U.S. President, and Point Pleasant, Ohio, native Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant visited the Gray House to talk to the Rev. John Rankin, a well-known abolitionist. Rankin’s granddaughter Elizabeth Gray owned the home with her hus- band, Col. George Noah Gray. Col. Gray served with the 53rd regular Ohio Volunteers fighting at Shiloh then re-enlisting
in the Navy, fighting in several Civil War naval battles. Back home, he managed the Hecla and Vesuvius furnaces. He and his wife raised four children. The Rev. John Rankin, of Ripley, Ohio, moved in with the Grays after his wife died. Rankin died here on March 18, 1886, and his body was laid in state in the front bay-windowed room. Rankin’s original furniture and be- longings are still intact and on display in his room at the mu- seum. On the second floor of the house is an ornately carved bookcase as tall as the ceiling and as wide as the room.
There are several ghost stories about the Gray House, but many of the volunteers and docents have not experienced anything. The Gray House is on the Registry of Historic Homes of the Rankin District. The Society has carefully restored both the interior and exterior, completing the work in 2000.
20. H.B. Wilson House, 518 S. 6th St.
Has the President of the United States of America ever given a speech at your house? The H.B. Wilson House at
518 S. 6th St., now known as the Tracy Brammer Funeral Home, can honestly say yes. President William McKinley once gave a speech at the home, which dates back to the 1870s. H.B. Wilson, the first cashier at First National Bank who also owned a lumberyard, was the architect who designed this sprawling Italian villa. The roof is made from gable or slate, which is offset by a boxed cornice with a decorated frieze, brackets and panels. The home was used as a residence until Tracy Brammer bought it in 1938 and turned it into a funeral home. Brammer’s son took over the funeral home before eventually selling it to David Philips.
Keep walking south on South 6th Street down to Monroe Street.
21. The Bay House, 620 S. 6th St.
Originally known as The Bay Mansion, this Second Empire Victorian style home was built in 1886 by steamboat Capt. William Bay. Bay, his wife, Lizzie Johnson Bay, and their two sons, Will and George, lived in this enormous 12-room home complete with Italian marble fireplaces in each room. William Bay and his brother Capt. George Bay started a steamboat business in 1862 and built 40 steamboats in 50 years.
The Bay brothers, who had a store on the Ohio River, survived a Civil War skirmish in July 1864 when a band of Confederate guerillas battered down the door, robbed them and opened fire on the brothers. William Bay was struck by two bullets and left for dead. His brother, then only a young man, appeared at the top of the stairs during the shooting and opened fire on the men in the room below. One of the soldiers was killed, and another was so badly wounded that he was unable to escape. He was captured and served five years
in the penitentiary for his part in the raid. Two others were wounded but managed to escape.
William Bay, whose name is etched into the window on the second floor, survived. When he did die, his funeral was held in his spacious home. After Mr. and Mrs. Bay passed away, the house was used for several businesses, such as a beauty parlor and a doctor’s office. Today, it is owned and lived in by Mr. Neil Dufore and his wife. Dufore is a chiropractor whose office is at 1726 S. 3rd St. in Ironton. He purchased the Bay house in 1985. While restoring the house, three different ceilings and a hidden archway were found.
people would watch the boats come in on the Ohio River. There is a double leaf-paneled door and a porch that fit
the time period in which the house was built.
22. J.T. Davis House, 723 S. 4th St.
J.T. Davis, influential in the founding of Ironton, built this French Second Empire home in the 1860s. A dry good store owner, Davis built this three-story brick home that was one of two original houses on the block between Monroe and Mad- ison streets. After Davis, the home was occupied by Reuben Lambert, followed by Mrs. Robert Meehan McCrory. It was also used as a Fine Young Ladies Boarding School.
Some basic features of the French Second Empire architecture are a square tower, mansard roof and decorative brackets, all of which are portrayed in the Davis House. The square tower on top of the house is said to have been where
23. Norton House, 709 S. 4th St.
This colorful three-story frame house features a carved side tower that was built in 1849 (before the founding of Ironton).
Keep walking north on South 4th Street past the new Ironton Fire Department building and toward the Briggs Lawrence County Public Library.
Built by the Culbertson family in the 1850s, this Greek Revival home is one of the two original houses located along 4th Street between Washington and Adams streets and is believed to have been one of the houses on the Under- ground Railroad.
While doing restorations, the Waldo family, who has owned the home since 1955, discovered a hidden passage- way starting in the attic and traveling all the way down to the basement. Slaves would be transported from the top of the house to bottom for an easier getaway.
The gardens of this home at one time extended all the way to 5th Street. They have since been sold for the con- struction of other homes.
Built by Samuel Dempsey in 1855, the Greek Revival home has also been known as the Ralph Massie House, the Davidson House and the Thomas House.
Born in Logan, Va., Dempsey was an associate of Ironton founder John Campbell and succeeded his father as the owner of the Etna and Vesuvius Furnaces. He also had an interest in the Iron Railroad, established by John Campbell, and the Etna Iron Works. The house was later purchased by Dr. Ralph Massie in 1931 and was used as his home as well as his office.
One of two original houses on 4th Street, the home is
a square, two-story structure, shaped with a low-hip roof supported by decorated brackets and pendants, common features of the Greek revival style. It has a stone foundation, which is complete with brick walls that have a running bond. The original cast iron porch remains, which leads to the main entrance door with beveled lights. The original basement remains in excellent condition as well.
When you get to Vernon Street, take a left on Vernon walking west back into the heart of downtown. Don’t miss checking out such downtown buildings as the 1884-built J.C. Penney building , which is now the Iron- ton City Center and home to several businesses. Also, check out the post-World War II building that houses Unger Shoes, 304 S. 3rd. St., which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2012.
26. Ro-Na Theater, 306 S. 3rd St.
Built in 1949 and closed in 1973, the Ro-Na Theater has been undergoing renovation efforts in the past few years. First used for Rally on the River in 2011, the Ro-Na had a grand reopening in May 2014 after five years of volunteer efforts and about $1 million. Lit with a new marquee, the Ro- Na Arts & Activity Center is back to being a usable building for the first time in some 40 years. In July 2014, it hosted
a premiere party for Ironton native Mickey Fisher’s CBS show “Extant,” and in December it held a premiere party
for “Suave Says,” a VH1 show starring Ironton native Kathy Eicher Mejia. The Ro-Na will continue to host special events, concerts and films and TV such as Ohio State games.
Keep walking on Vernon Street until you reach the Depot. If you’d like to see more history, check out the colorful murals located on the Ohio River side of the Ironton floodwall.
“In terms of history, the community of Ironton, Ohio, offers up enough at- tractions for just about any level of historical enthusiasm. From railroads, rivers, industry and the Underground Railroad, Ironton rates second to none when it comes to historical artifacts. Most interestingly, however, Ironton contains some of the most unusual and significant examples of architecturally unique homes of just about anywhere in the country. Thus, especially for your enjoyment, we have produced this tour of historical homes. Come take a journey with us down the streets of history.”
— Dave Lucas, Ohio University Southern professor of communication studies
Original Post Here: https://www.herald-dispatch.com/features_entertainment/storied-history-can-be-found-in-one-of-area-s/article_b850f80b-139b-5411-a02b-d921e2957187.html
