{"nrhp_refnum":"80003014","name":"Principal's Cottage","other_names":["\"Bird Song\"","President's House,Worthington Female Seminary"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"38 Short St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worthington","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":40.08591959100005,"lon":-83.01907197999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame Gothic Revival house at 38 Short Street, Worthington, Ohio, built around 1845 (a 1991 correction gives 1820, 1871) as the president's house of the Worthington Female Seminary and later renamed Principal's Cottage.","why_significant":"The house is noted for its Gothic characteristics of vertical wood siding, a steep gabled roof and bargeboard. It is also tied to the Worthington Female Seminary, the first authorized Methodist female seminary in Ohio, founded in 1838. It was built for Serepta Marsh, the institution's president.","narrative":"Principal's Cottage, also known as Bird Song and originally the President's House of the Worthington Female Seminary, is a two-story frame residence at 38 Short Street in Worthington, Ohio. Its main block dates to about 1845 and shows Gothic Revival character through vertical wood siding, a steep pointed roofline and bargeboard. A side wing with a steep-roofed dormer was added later in the 19th century, and a more recent single-story porch crosses the facade. The house was built for Serepta Marsh, president of the Worthington Female Seminary, the first authorized Methodist female seminary in Ohio, established in 1838. It originally stood on the east side of High Street just south of the seminary. When the seminary was demolished in 1963, the house was moved to prevent its destruction. A later review changed its name to Principal's Cottage and revised its construction dates. It remains a residence on a lot of under an acre, set behind a group of homes.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Inventory lists interior and exterior condition as fair; the house was moved in 1963 when the Seminary was demolished and sits behind other homes, not visible from the public road. Used as a residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.699075-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/80003014.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003014/f3d6d4209a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003014/f3d6d4209a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Principal%27s_Cottage,_Worthington.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Principal%27s_Cottage,_Worthington.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"10000190","name":"Worthington Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/worthington-historic-district-10000190/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985258","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138339178"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/principals-cottage-80003014/"}