{"nrhp_refnum":"08001196","name":"Fairfield County Children's Home","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"1743 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Fairfield County","state":"OH","lat":39.71595383600004,"lon":-82.56632378199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 25-acre district at 1743 E. Main Street on the eastern edge of Lancaster, Ohio, centered on a three-story brick children's home built 1883-1886. It also includes an earlier frame house and six other historic outbuildings.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the property as the county's institutional home for orphaned children, replacing placement in the county infirmary. It operated with a working farm where children did chores until the 1970s. The main building is a Renaissance Revival design with Queen Anne-style stained glass, and later additions record the Home's evolution into the 1960s.","narrative":"Built between 1883 and 1886, the Fairfield County Children's Home on East Main Street in Lancaster, Ohio, was created so that orphaned children no longer had to be placed in the county infirmary. The county bought about 28 acres in 1883, and an existing frame house on the site sheltered the children during construction. The three-story brick main building, designed in the Renaissance Revival style with stained glass in the upper window sashes, was linked to that house, which became the superintendent's residence and office. The Home was planned for 60 children, who helped with household and farm chores on a working farm that operated until the 1970s. Seven superintendent and matron couples led it until 1980. Later additions include a 1950s gymnasium and a 1966-67 girls' dormitory. Six historic outbuildings remain, among them a brick auxiliary building and a bank barn built after a 1923 fire. Today the buildings serve offices, Head Start classrooms and an emergency family shelter.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"General contractor David Cowden; stonemason Mr. Metzger","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Renaissance Revival; Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival; Late Victorian: Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"The main building now houses offices, meeting rooms and Head Start classrooms. The auxiliary building's second floor serves as an emergency family shelter and its first floor is not rehabilitated. Some windows are covered with plywood, and the house porch is deteriorated.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.526733-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/08001196.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988247","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/fairfield-county/fairfield-county-childrens-home-08001196/"}