{"nrhp_refnum":"79002766","name":"Gerhart-Rust Residence","other_names":["German House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"285 E. Perry St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tiffin","county":"Seneca County","state":"OH","lat":41.116790577000074,"lon":-83.16838432999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Greek Revival wood-frame house at 285 E. Perry St. in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio, built in 1852 for E.V. Gerhart, first president of Heidelberg College and Theological Seminary.","why_significant":"The house is tied to the early history of Heidelberg College as the home of its first president and later of seminary faculty and presidents. It was nominated as part of a thematic group of campus properties that show the college's growth and development. It also contributes to the group's range of architectural styles.","narrative":"Built in 1852 at 285 E. Perry St. in Tiffin, this two-story Greek Revival house was the home of E.V. Gerhart, first president of Heidelberg College and Theological Seminary. He financed it with a $1,000 loan from the college endowment, since the trustees wanted him living near the campus, which then had only Founder's Hall. After Gerhart resigned in 1855, the seminary trustees repurchased the house, and Moses Keiffer, president from 1855 to 1864, lived there. Dr. Herman Rust, a seminary professor and local pastor, bought it in 1866, and the Rust family stayed until the late 1930s. It later housed a foreman's family, then furnished rooms called The Echoes. Since the early 1970s Heidelberg has used it as the German House dormitory. Features include a portico with four square columns, a bracketed cornice, a pilastered doorway and shuttered windows. Aluminum siding is a later alteration, and rear additions have varied roofs.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"In use as the German House, a dormitory for German-speaking students, since the early 1970s; exterior condition listed as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.32805-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002766.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002766/8c88dc8574-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002766/8c88dc8574-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerhart-Rust_Residence.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerhart-Rust_Residence.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986148","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138673079"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/seneca-county/gerhart-rust-residence-79002766/"}