This little gem was once the garden house at Edgewater, summer home of Harvey and Emma Legg Zinn. (Harvey was founder of the Zinn Lumber Company.) It dates to the 1920s. Zinn’s property at the west end of Kenworth was eventually subdivided and several years ago an additional new house was built on the property.

During construction of the new house, the builder, Kevin Clausen, used the garden house as an office for the building project (shown here in 2014).

Upon the house’s completion, the new homeowners, Gary and Kathy Flynn, donated this lovely shed to Clintonville Resource Center (CRC) instead of demolishing it. Thanks to the Clintonville Historical Society, the American Public Gardens Association, builder Kevin Clausen and some hearty volunteers, it was moved to its new home at the CRC Midgard Community Garden (aka Midgarden). The foundation work was completed in 2017 with the help of Tim Beachy and Anderson Concrete.

This building enables CRC staff and volunteers to collect rainwater for irrigation, start new plant seedlings on site, retrieve seeds for new plantings and provide a space for educational and informational gatherings. And of course, it adds a shedful of pretty to the landscape.

There are several old residential buildings that have disappeared over the last 12 years–I wish we had photos of them.

The old Hollenback home and The Booster building, located at California and North High Streets. I remember this building setting back over a slight rise from North high Street. This is a Google Earth image from 2004 of the roofs of these buildings.

A large Victorian house demolished to make way for the commercial building presently occupied by Lavash Restaurant. This is the Google image from 2004 of the rooftop.

Another big old residential building, this one located on Weber, one building east from North High Street on the north side of Weber. (Another Google image from 2004.) I’m not sure but believe this building was built for and owned by a member of the Armbruster family, whose patriarch lived in what became Southwick-Good-Fortkamp funeral home. You will find lots of additional information about Mathias Armbruster on my web site.

Old House Journal, April-May 2011 issue, included pictures of 4 North Broadway Lane “then and now.” Beautiful!

Another beautiful house on East North Broadway is on the market: 250 East North Broadway. Here, courtesy of realtor Judy Minister, is a video tour of the house.

According to Mary Rodgers, the house was built in 1927 at an original cost of $8,320.  The first owner of the home was Vera Hults Benoy.  Her husband Wilbur was an attorney. He graduated from Ohio State University and was admitted to the bar in 1910.  He served as City Attorney, County Prosecutor, and as Special Assistant to the Ohio Supreme Court.  He had some fairly large legal cases, including the 1926 prosecution of the Mayor of Grove City for race track betting.   Later, he maintained an office in the AUI building (now the LeVeque Tower).

Wilbur was raised in Licking Co.  His father owned a grocery in Croton.  Wilbur’s mother died in a car accident in Columbus in 1921.  Vera was born in Delaware, Ohio.    Prior to her marriage in 1912, Vera was a school teacher.

Wilbur and Vera had four children: Alice, Harlan, Ellen (aka Peggy) and Halden.  Their daughter Alice was a music teacher.

[Information and family photograph courtesy of Mary Rodgers, Clintonville Historical Society.]

242 East North Broadway used to have a horse stable; it was located behind what is now the garage at that address. The stable stood until the early 1970s, when the then-owner accidentally burned it down.

The story goes that his wife told him not to burn the rubbage so close to the stable! You’ll burn that building down! But her husband did it anyway, and she earned the sad right to say, “I told you so.”

Luckily the current owners have a photograph of that original stable.

[Image courtesy of Gary Means and Jane Hoffelt]

Two more terrific pictures taken in the old old days of 242 East North Broadway‘s history.

This house was known as the Winfield Scott house, after the owner in the early part of the 1900s. The people in the first photo are Winfield Scott (1848-1934) and his wife Francis Anna Whipple. This homeowner bears no relation to the Civil War general. He is also not the son or brother or nephew of a former OSU President.

There were various Winfield Scotts living at the same time and in the same areas, and it makes for some confusion. There is a Winfield Scott (1846-1916) who was the brother to William Henry Scott, the OSU president; William Henry lived on North High Street a scant block from 242 East North Broadway. (This is confirmed with matching parents’ names, Alexander and Susan Scott, appearing on both of their death certificates, viewed on Familysearch.org.) This Winfield brother was married to someone named Josephine.

The Winfield Scott living at 242 E. N. Broadway was the son of Lancelot and Jane Scott, and he was married to Francis Anna Whipple. He also had a son named Winfield Kenath Scott (spelling based on his death certificate) who lived from 1876-1915. Winfield and Francis had a daughter named Florence May Scott who married Clarence B. Hoover; their daughter was Elizabeth Hoover and Elizabeth lived in the Rosemary Parkway neighborhood of Clintonville. In 1991 she sent a letter to the homeowners of 242 E. N. Broadway and you can find that letter here.

There is a mention on OhioMemory.org, that the Winfield Scott who lived at 242 E N Broadway was the son of the OSU president William Henry Scott. But that is not the case. This Winfield was of the same generation as William Henry Scott and Winfield Scott, so they may have been cousins.

By the way, both of these Scott lines lived in Athens County in the 19th Century, so that adds to the evidence that they may have been related (and also adds to the confusion!

[Thanks to Nick at the Columbus Metropolitan Library Local History and Genealogy Desk for this genealogy information. The photographs came from Elizabeth Hoover and are shared courtesy of Gary Means and Jane Hoffelt.]

I’ve written in the past about this stunning house at 242 E. N. Broadway–a beautiful renovation job by the current owner. When the house was put on the market in 2018, a video was made and you can tour the house’s interior by video here.

This is the oldest existing house on E.N. Broadway. Here are some old and new pix.

Original house:

And today, after years of loving restoration:

[Video and current image courtesy of Judy Minister Realty. The older image was part of the Clinton League’s notebooks and the digitized equivalent is among the “Ohio History Connection Selections” of the Ohio Memory project. Click on the thumbnail image above to reach their page.]

Elford Inc., a commercial construction company located near Grandview on Dublin Road, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010.

To mark the occasion, the company published a 70-page hardcover book detailing Elford’s history, from its founding by Edward “Pop” Elford in 1910 to today. It’s available as a PDF here. The book chronicles the company’s history decade by decade, focusing on the marquee projects of each decade.

From a Clintonville and Beechwold perspective, the following are standouts:

[PDF booklet courtesy of Elford by way of Wendy Bayer.]

A nice image of the Calumet Street Viaduct i.e. the Glen Echo / Calumet Street bridge. Elford Company built the bridge around 1924. The photo was taken from the area where the scoreboard on football field of the high school (formerly North High) is located. You can see some houses in the background, which are along Olentangy Street east of Calumet. [Thanks to John Krygier for sending this along to us.]

And here is the view of those houses today, using September 2016 Google Streetview.

Isn’t it wonderful when you discover that your old house holds a treasure trove of old artifacts from previous owners!? Matt Earley recently found some very old documents in his attic from the original residents of his home at 128 Crestview Rd.

Probably the most interesting thing is this handwritten will directive from the original owner of the home, J.W. Montague. It was written in pencil, and found under a vent pipe in the attic of the house.

The Earleys also found several items from the family who rented the home during the 1930s and early 1940s, the H. R. Townsend Family. The home was a rental during this time period. Matt has spoken with a member of the family of he Townsend family, and she said that the Townsends lived in the home during the school year, but then moved back to a farm they owned near Hamilton, Ohio during the summer months. The gentleman, Horace Raymond (H.R.) Townsend, had been principal of the Hamilton High School until he assumed the full-time position of commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA, which is currently located in Clintonville at 4080 Roselea Place, Columbus, OH 43214). He was the first commissioner of the organization, and held that post from 1925 until his death in 1944.

H.R.’s initials written on the inside of one of the attic walls:

Here is a 1939 Newspaper blurb about an event H.R. Townsend and his wife were hosting at 128 Crestview (“Entertain College Club”, 3rd column).

And, here is a 1936 article about their daughter Esther and her activities (“The Daily Grist”, Column 2).

Here are some Hamilton High School yearbook pages from 1925, the last year Townsend was principal:

And a spread of the dedication to H.R. in the yearbook, along with his photo:

This was a photograph randomly inserted into one of the pages of the aforementioned yearbook. The Earleys are not sure who it is, but have confirmed that it is not Mrs. Townsend:

A children’s poetry book found in the attic:

The Earleys found some of their daughters’ (Elizabeth’s and possibly Esther’s) schoolwork in their attic as well, and you can see those here. (I sure hope no one finds my school work 75 years later!)

Matt has done extensive research on the history of the home and its owners, and has spoken with most of the previous owners or their extended families. He is still looking for any photographs of the home from before the 1980s (about the oldest he has been given to date). The King family (of Nancy King fame) was the longest resident of the home, but Matt has not yet obtained any photos of the home from when they lived in it (1957-1979). If anyone happens to stumble upon anything older than that around 1985 at some point, Matt would be very interested in seeing it.