Several years back, Gordon Brevoort gave a wonderful presentation to the Clintonville Historical Society about he and his family’s life in Clintonville. The Brevoorts are one of Clintonville’s oldest families, and some still live in the neighborhood.

Gordon told the listeners about Chicktown, the fantasy land he and his friends played in.

The old Brevoort homestead has been torn down but I liked the old image of it. (There is a picture of it on page 12 of my book). More from or about the Brevoorts here.

(Documents and photo courtesy of Gordon Brevoort)

Perhaps the first house to be built on East Como was this house at 71 East Como. The owner from 1908-1926 said he recalled a little brook that ran near the house and a footbridge leading to High Street.

This diminutive log structure was built in Meigs County in 1840 and brought to Clintonville in 1937 by Grace McGrath, great-granddaughter of the original owner. The house was put next to McGrath’s home. McGrath was an art teacher at Central High School and she used it as an art studio. Subsequent owners have expanded the house with bathrooms, an updated kitchen and bedroom, and porch. (Photo by Inga Smith, photo displayed courtesy of the homeowner)

Don Hutslar, in his book Log Construction in the Ohio Country 1750–1850, differentiates between log cabins, which were intended to be temporary, and log houses, which were intended to serve as a home and were consequently sturdier, larger, perhaps taller. I wonder how many log homes there are in Clintonville, covered by contemporary siding. I have been told that there is one at 232 West North Broadway, on the north side of West North Broadway, east of the river.

Maple Grove Church in 1939. Originally owned by John Buck, by 1842 the property on the southwest corner of today’s Henderson Road and North High Street was owned by Chauncey Cooke. Chauncey leased the lot to the directors of Clinton Township School District No 1, and the lease contained the clause “to have and to hold said demised premises as long as they shall be used for school purposes.” A clause was also added “that the lot and building to be erected thereon shall be used for Public Worship by any Christian denomination for the accommodation of the neighborhood.” Lore has it that the lease was not recorded but was held by the Clinton township clerk for a number of years, and the late Mr. L. L. Pegg found it in the corn crib of the township clerk in the year 1919.

A wonderful picture of the Weisheimer Mill including the Jacob Weisheimer home (which still exists) and other buildings at the mill complex. The photographer would be looking north up Starrett Road to Weisheimer Road. You can click on this image to see the distant details. I show some other images of the mill and Weisheimer homes on pages 21-22 of my book. (Photo courtesy of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.)