{"nrhp_refnum":"75001413","name":"Old Washington Historic District","other_names":["Beymerstown"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Both sides of Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Old Washington","county":"Guernsey County","state":"OH","lat":40.038352366000055,"lon":-81.44278646659563,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-05-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 20-acre historic district covering the village of Old Washington (also called Beymerstown) in Guernsey County, Ohio, strung along Main Street on the National Road (later U.S. 40). It was laid out in 1805 and contains mostly early to mid-19th-century vernacular brick and frame buildings.","why_significant":"The nomination calls Old Washington a very good example of an early Ohio community laid out along a main thoroughfare. Its houses show a progression from plain brick and frame buildings to early Victorian styles, reflecting the mercantile and humbler occupations of residents. Population decline after 1850 and the lack of a railroad or canal limited new construction after the 1860s, which helped preserve the village.","narrative":"Old Washington is a village in Guernsey County, Ohio, that grew along the National Road, later U.S. 40. Henry and George Beymer laid it out in 1805 as New Washington, on Zane's Trace, and it became known as Beymerstown. It is described as the oldest permanent settlement in the county. Main Street remains the village backbone, lined with rectangular brick and frame buildings of the first half of the 19th century. Early brick houses are typically five bays wide with center entrances, plain stone lintels and gable roofs. Later brick buildings are larger and carry Italianate trim. Notable examples include the Albert Lawrence House, the American Hotel, the First Presbyterian Church built in 1859-1861, and an 1830 building on lot 82. Population peaked at 759 in 1850, after which the town declined. With no important railroad or canal, few houses were built after the 1860s, which helped preserve the historic streetscape, although a number of buildings are now deteriorated.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1829-1860","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular architecture of the first half of the 19th century, with Italianate trim on later brick buildings","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is rated good and altered; a number of buildings are deteriorated, especially early frame structures. Uses include commercial, private residence and religious, with some buildings occupied and some unoccupied.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.500142-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001413.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988782","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/guernsey-county/old-washington-historic-district-75001413/"}