West Kanawha: A “Surcease from City Life”
Sometimes a house tells the story of a person, right? In this case the story is about Frank and Bertha Rorer.
This story was sent to me by Wendy Bayer, who writes, “During COVID, I did quite a bit of walking around Clintonville and found myself on West Kanawha one afternoon…I noticed an intriguing house at 314 W Kanawha and did some research on it (naturally! My curiosity is so strong!) I found this great newspaper article from 1939 about the builders and residents; you might find them interesting, too.”
The Rorers bought a tract of undeveloped land on what is now West Kanawha. They took scout troops there, and hiked their property. Their first house on Kanawha was a tiny house constructed from washing machine crates. (Why? because Mr. Rorer was a plumber.) They also built a cave on the property for refrigeration. They initially used this tiny house as a weekend getaway, but Bertha spent more and more time there. Later they built a white clapboard house nearby, and then in the late 1930s they built their dream house at 314 West Kanawha from salvaged walnut-wood logs.
Today there are a cluster of properties along Kanawha formerly affiliated with the Rorers; here are some of their ownership histories:
290 W. Kanawha–nothing
300 W. Kanawha–1922-1937 Rorers owned it. This is where they lived in April 1931.
304 W. Kanawha–1923-1959 Rorers owned it, new house built 1959
310 W. Kanawha–1937-1959 Rorers owned it, new house built 1960
314 W. Kanawha–log home. Rorers owned it 1923?-59
320 W. Kanawha– nothing
Here’s the “Ohio Historic Inventory sheet” for 314 West Kanawha, from the Ohio Historic Preservation Office at Ohio History Connection.
Bertha Rorer died in 1974, her husband Frank Rorer died 1976 (You can click through to read their obituaries.)
[Research courtesy of Wendy Bauer, and inventory courtesy of Nancy Campbell/OHPO.]