{"nrhp_refnum":"72001008","name":"Square 13 Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Sherman, John, Birthplace"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly area along Broad and High Sts. between Mulberry and Chestnut Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Fairfield County","state":"OH","lat":39.71431373000004,"lon":-82.60044056085835,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-07-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 24-acre historic district centered on Square 13 of Zane's original town plan in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, containing early-to-late 19th-century houses and a church near the Public Square.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district holds probably the most outstanding grouping of early 19th-century Federal and Greek Revival homes in the Ohio valley. Many buildings merit individual recognition, and together they create a strong visual impact. The area is also tied to early Lancaster's settlement and to prominent residents such as the Sherman and Ewing families.","narrative":"Square 13 is a 24-acre section of Lancaster, Ohio, laid out by Ebenezer Zane in 1800 and soon the hub of the town's residential area. The district gathers brick and frame houses and a church built from about 1806 through the mid-1800s, showing a continuous run of 19th-century styles. Federal and Greek Revival houses predominate, including the Reese-Mattox House, the Reese-Peters and Matlack houses, and the Georgian-style house at 105 E. Wheeling Street. St. John's Episcopal Church adds a Gothic Revival note, and Victorian homes and small frame cottages appear as well. Daniel Sifford built many of the major buildings. The area is also linked to notable residents, among them Charles Sherman, whose sons John and William Tecumseh Sherman were born in the frame house at 137 E. Main Street, and Thomas Ewing. The concentration of early houses, many still recognizable despite alterations, is the main reason for the district's recognition.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Daniel Sifford (builder of several houses and St. John's Episcopal Church); Isaac Church (attributed to the Irvin and Effinger houses)","architectural_style":"Federal, Greek Revival, Georgian, Gothic Revival and Victorian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is marked good, with some buildings altered; some houses are now used commercially, by a church, or by civic groups.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.192249-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/72001008.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83003438","name":"Lancaster Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/lancaster-historic-district-83003438/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988191","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/fairfield-county/square-13-historic-district-72001008/"}