{"nrhp_refnum":"81000431","name":"Stearns, Lyman, Farm","other_names":["Earl Gibbs Farm"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6975 Ridge Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Parma","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.375136915500036,"lon":-81.7285778474476,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-10-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 48.3-acre working farm at 6975 Ridge Road in Parma, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, with nine structures clustered near the road, including an 1855 farmhouse, an 1855 barn and a 1919 bungalow-style house.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the farm is the last intact remnant of the agricultural way of life that typified Parma Township for about 130 years until World War II. Its buildings and land show how farm life and building techniques changed over time. It sits in the heart of a city that grew from a rural township of 2,300 to 124,000 people.","narrative":"On Ridge Road in Parma, Ohio, a 48-acre farm survives in the middle of a large suburban city. Nine structures sit close to the road, including an 1855 two-story frame farmhouse with a kitchen wing, an 1855 barn with hand-hewn beams and many later additions, and a 1919 bungalow-style house built by Earl and Eliza Gibbs. Fields, orchards, woods and windbreak tree lines remain behind them. The land was part of the Ely Tract and passed to Lyman Stearns in 1855. The farm operated until 1976. It is considered significant as the last intact example of the farming life that shaped Parma Township until World War II, before the area grew from about 2,300 residents in 1919 to 124,000 by 1970. The buildings show how construction methods changed with farming needs. The City of Parma and the Parma Area Historical Society plan to run it again as a working farm.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899, 1900-","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Bungalow-style (1919 Gibbs house); simple two-story frame farmhouse","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Parma and used as an agricultural and interpretive center; it was a working farm until 1976, with plans to operate it again as a working farm. Condition is described as good; buildings range from excellent to poor.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.603736-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/81000431.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000431/bf5651b554-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000431/bf5651b554-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lyman_Stearns_Farm.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lyman_Stearns_Farm.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987343","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137734628"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/stearns-lyman-farm-81000431/"}