{"nrhp_refnum":"78002137","name":"Riley, Calvin E., House","other_names":["Mercer County Historical Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"130 E. Market St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Celina","county":"Mercer County","state":"OH","lat":40.548581596000076,"lon":-84.56936508599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large Queen Anne style house at 130 East Market Street in Celina, Mercer County, Ohio, built in 1896 by banker and miller Calvin Erastus Riley. It now serves as the Mercer County Historical Museum.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its association with the Riley family, which surveyed and platted early towns in the Old Northwest Territory, and as an excellent example of Queen Anne design with round and octagonal facade towers. Its interior woodwork, added by the local Mersman Brothers Furniture Company, is also noteworthy. It is the only residence left on its commercial block.","narrative":"Built in 1896 for Calvin Erastus Riley, a farmer, miller and banker, this large Queen Anne house at 130 East Market Street in Celina has a multi-gabled fish-scale slate roof and two facade towers, one round and one octagonal. A one-story porch with Doric columns spans the front, set on a high rusticated stone foundation. Inside, an oak-paneled vestibule leads to a hall with an open stairway and rose stained glass window. The Mersman Brothers Furniture Company, a local firm, later fashioned the staircase, entrance hall and parlor woodwork. Riley's grandfather, Captain James Riley, and father, James Watson Riley, surveyed the Old Northwest Territory and helped plat towns including Celina. Riley's daughter Lena lived here until 1974, after which the county purchased the home for a museum. It is the last residence on its commercial block, and a 1907 photograph shows it little changed.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the Mercer County Commissioners and used as a museum; condition marked good and unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.009945-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002137.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002137/72f0214380-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002137/72f0214380-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calvin_E._Riley_House,_Celina.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calvin_E._Riley_House,_Celina.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990269","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138577365"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mercer-county/riley-calvin-e-house-78002137/"}