On February 14th the City of Columbus celebrated its 200th birthday. There are many activities to do all over town. At 200Columbus you can find a schedule of events, learn about the City’s history and initiatives during this anniversary year.
Where Can You Find These 4 Historic Columbus Homes?
Let’s look at the history of our great city with respect to housing and Columbus real estate. I found 4 different homes of historic significance you may not know about.
The oldest settlement in the Columbus area was Franklinton. It’s the neighborhood just West of downtown across the Scioto River.
Franklinton lies lower than the Scioto River, that’s why this area is also known as the “Bottoms”. Needless to say, whenever the river flooded, Franklinton homes were under water and many were destroyed.
It was almost impossible to build new homes in the Bottoms until the Scioto flood-wall was complete in 2004.
There are only a few historic houses in Franklinton, most notably the General Harrison House at 570 W. Broad Street. It was built in 1805 and is now owned by the City of Columbus.
The oldest house in Columbus, which has been lived in for 208 years, is located just North of the OSU campus (according to this Columbus Dispatch story.)
Learn More About The History
It took me a while to find it. Thanks to the Franklin County Auditor’s property search I was able to locate the house on 40 E. Norwich Ave. Actually, it sits at the rear end of the property on Pearl Street, which is an alley. As you can see on the picture below, this home is made of huge logs and looks like the cabin of pioneers in the wilderness.
On Dublin Road in Hilliard you can find a stone house that was built in 1816 (according to the auditor). It is called the Davis House. It is located at 4264 Dublin Road and privately owned.
Finally, I found the house where famous World War I ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker lived. It is owned by the City of Columbus and was converted into a historic site. The house can be found at 1334 Livingston Ave, just East of Children’s Hospital.
Do you know of any other historic homes in Columbus worth mentioning?
Tell us about them when you leave a comment below.
