{"nrhp_refnum":"75001412","name":"Kennedy Stone House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE of North Salem off OH 271","address_restricted":false,"city":"North Salem","county":"Guernsey County","state":"OH","lat":40.12803963300007,"lon":-81.49947328299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-10-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story rectangular stone house of local stone, probably sandstone, built about 1837 on the south shore of Salt Fork Lake near North Salem, Guernsey County, Ohio. It was built for Benjamin Kennedy, and a stone fruit cellar and an old well stand nearby.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is of local architectural significance as one of a dwindling number of stone houses in Guernsey County. A 1942 notebook located fifteen stone houses built between 1824 and 1853, and several are likely gone. It is described as a fairly well-preserved example of first- and second-generation residential architecture in the county.","narrative":"Near the south shore of Salt Fork Lake in Guernsey County, Ohio, stands a two-story stone house measuring 18 by 40 feet, five bays wide and two deep. Benjamin Kennedy bought the 80-acre site in January 1837 and probably had the house built soon afterward. The contract price was $500, and the unnamed contractor was later paid extra to build a barrel-vaulted stone fruit cellar southwest of the house. The Kennedy family owned the property until 1942, when it was sold to the state for the Salt Fork Lake development. The house was occupied until 1966. After the lake was impounded in 1969, water rose to within about 75 feet, and access is now by boat or trail. Vandals have destroyed the windows, doors and stair rail, though the stone walls remain sound. The house was listed as a locally significant, fairly well-preserved example of early stone residential building in a county where such houses are disappearing.","period_of_significance":"approximately 1837","architect_builder":"Contractor unknown; built for Benjamin Kennedy","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied; last resident left in 1966. The house has been extensively vandalized, with windows, doors and stair rail destroyed, and openings covered with plywood. The stone walls are in excellent condition. A deteriorated rear frame addition was slated for removal.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.921443-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001412.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001412/963efebc6a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001412/963efebc6a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bwsmith84 at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kennedy_Stone_House_001.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bwsmith84 at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kennedy_Stone_House_001.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988788","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Stone_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6389690"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/guernsey-county/kennedy-stone-house-75001412/"}