{"nrhp_refnum":"69000146","name":"Columbian House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"River and Farnsworth Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waterville","county":"Lucas County","state":"OH","lat":41.499449784000035,"lon":-83.71733041499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-12-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Georgian-style inn at the corner of River Road and Farnsworth Road (formerly Main Street) in Waterville, Ohio, built 1825-28 by John Pray.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an important late example of the Georgian style in northwestern Ohio, kept largely intact by a lack of alterations and one of few of its kind remaining in the region. It is also significant as the social and commercial center of the surrounding countryside, built by town founder John Pray.","narrative":"Built between 1825 and 1828 at the corner of River Road and Farnsworth Road in Waterville, Ohio, this three-story inn was the work of John Pray, who acted as his own architect and builder and founded the town in 1831. Its frame uses hand-hewn fourteen-inch timbers, and the twenty-three rooms feature black walnut woodwork. The ground floor held a bar room and trading supplies, the second floor offered sleeping quarters, and the third floor was a ballroom with an arched ceiling and two fireplaces. Social and commercial life in the area revolved around the building. Later it housed a dressmaker, a milliner, a drug store and a school. The nomination values it as a late and particularly fine interpretation of Georgian design in provincial America, with mutules, a dentil course and six-panelled doors with pilasters. Few comparable buildings remain in northwestern Ohio, and this one survives largely unaltered.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (built 1825-28)","architect_builder":"John Pray (his own architect and builder)","architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in fair condition and unaltered, occupied, with commercial use; at the time of the form it served luncheons and dinners by reservation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.262791-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/69000146.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000146/2cff15fc5c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000146/2cff15fc5c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbian_House_in_Waterville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbian_House_in_Waterville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990007","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138557566"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lucas-county/columbian-house-69000146/"}