{"nrhp_refnum":"86002620","name":"Rial, York, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"McFarland St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Piqua","county":"Miami County","state":"OH","lat":40.15638244500008,"lon":-84.23661435799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-08-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-a-half-story frame house built in 1890 at McFarland Street and Miami Street in the Rossville community near Piqua, Springcreek Township, Miami County, Ohio. It was built by York Rial, a freed-slave descendant of the John Randolph plantation.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Rossville, a major 19th-century freed black settlement founded by former slaves of John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia. It is the only building in the community documented as built for one of the Randolph slaves. It is also a well-preserved example of a house type found in rural black settlements in Ohio. York Rial gained national attention for leading a court case to reclaim land in Mercer County.","narrative":"Built in 1890 in the Rossville community near Piqua, this small frame house was the home of York Rial, a mason born into slavery on John Randolph's Virginia plantation. Rossville was settled after 1846 by freed people from Randolph's estate, who were turned away from land purchased for them in Mercer County. Rial bought the lot in 1872 and likely laid the stacked limestone foundation himself. From 1907 until his death in 1913, he helped represent the Randolph descendants in court cases seeking that land. The house measures about 16 by 28 feet and has two rooms up and two down, with an unaltered staircase and nineteenth-century woodwork. Later siding and a 1950s rear addition have not changed its distinctive features. It is the only Rossville building documented as built for one of the Randolph slaves, and it represents a house type common in Ohio's rural black settlements. The house is now a museum.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"unknown (built by York Rial, according to the narrative)","architectural_style":"Vernacular one-and-a-half-story frame house type found in rural black settlements in Ohio","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in good, altered condition, with a 1950s rear addition and partial aluminum siding; operated as a museum telling the story of the Randolph Slaves.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.904354-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/86002620.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990331","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/miami-county/rial-york-house-86002620/"}