{"nrhp_refnum":"80003215","name":"Highbank Farm","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE of Chillicothe on OH 35","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chillicothe","county":"Ross County","state":"OH","lat":39.27091321100005,"lon":-82.89682055799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Highbank Farm is a brick farmhouse with an associated 19th century I-beam bridge on a 5-acre tract on State Route 35 southeast of Chillicothe, Liberty Township, Ross County, Ohio. The core dates to about 1802, with a large front block added in 1884.","why_significant":"The farm is tied to the Harness and Vause families and to the early 19th century cattle industry of the Scioto Valley. Edwin Harness helped organize the 1833 company that imported English Shorthorn cattle and used the farm for selective breeding. The Vause family kept the farm in the cattle trade, and it later became a social and Democratic Party gathering place.","narrative":"Highbank Farm occupies a low rise on the west side of the Scioto River floodplain southeast of Chillicothe. The nominated five acres hold a two-story brick farmhouse built in stages: an early 19th century core, a rear wing, and an irregular front block added in 1884. A 19th century I-beam bridge over Dry Run, whose exact date is unknown, is also included. Joseph Harness settled the land in 1802, and a brick house stood by the mid-1820s. His son Edwin Harness worked with cattleman Felix Renick, helped organize the 1833 company that imported English Shorthorn cattle, and bred stock here. The Vause family, related by marriage, continued the cattle trade and later made the farm a centre of Democratic Party activity, with a rally in the early 1880s said to draw over 20,000 people. The 1884 enlargement responded to the demands of farm business and social life.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied as a private residence; the farm remains in the Vanmeter family. The house is described as in good condition and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.759462-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/80003215.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991169","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/ross-county/highbank-farm-80003215/"}