{"nrhp_refnum":"78002139","name":"Gast, Matthias, House and General Store","other_names":["Martha Gast House and Gagel Hardware Storage Room"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"OH 119","address_restricted":false,"city":"Maria Stein","county":"Mercer County","state":"OH","lat":40.407823208000025,"lon":-84.47026954499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of four buildings on adjoining lots 4 and 5 in the West Addition of Maria Stein, Mercer County, Ohio: a brick house built in 1852, a frame summer kitchen, a frame general store dating from 1867, and a small rear house added about 1900. All were built by the Matthias Gast family.","why_significant":"The complex is a link to the early history of the township and county, tied to Matthias Gast, an original settler and merchant whose store served the area for over 100 years. The brick house is also presented as an excellent example of simple vernacular architecture of this part of Ohio.","narrative":"Four buildings on two adjoining lots in Maria Stein, Mercer County, Ohio, record the life of a pioneer merchant family. Matthias Gast, born in France in 1813, opened a shoe and leather business in the 1830s and prospered after the Miami-Erie Canal opened in 1845 and German Catholic settlers filled the surrounding farmland. When lots were platted in the West Addition in 1852, he bought five and built a 30-by-38-foot brick house, a vernacular design with a stone lintel, 6/6 windows and a T-shaped rear addition added about 1870. Goods were first sold from the house. A frame general store followed in 1867 and operated until about 1941, later altered by the Knights of St. John into a meeting room and dance hall. A frame summer kitchen and a small rear house complete the group. Gast also served as county commissioner, notary public and county auctioneer. The house remains a residence and is little changed.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"The house is still used as a residence and is basically unaltered except for plumbing and electricity. The summer kitchen is a gift shop. The altered general store is used for hardware storage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.111655-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002139.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002139/9a5096e585-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002139/9a5096e585-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matthias_Gast_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matthias_Gast_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990267","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Gast_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6791547"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/mercer-county/gast-matthias-house-and-general-store-78002139/"}