{"nrhp_refnum":"91000251","name":"Wolcott, Benajah, House","other_names":["Old Stone Fort"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"9999 E. Bay Shore Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lakeside--Marblehead","county":"Ottawa County","state":"OH","lat":41.51440024800007,"lon":-82.74817766899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-03-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one to one-and-a-half story limestone house built circa 1832 on the Danbury Peninsula overlooking Sandusky Bay, at Lakeside-Marblehead, Ottawa County, Ohio. It was the home of pioneer Benajah Wolcott and is locally known as the Old Stone Fort.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest known surviving residence in Ottawa County and one of the oldest in northwestern Ohio, tied to the county's early settlement. Its builder Benajah Wolcott was a Revolutionary War veteran, pioneer settler and the first keeper of the Marblehead Lighthouse. It is also described as an excellent, intact example of Federal frontier vernacular architecture in the hall and parlor form.","narrative":"Built around 1832 of native limestone quarried on site, this small stone house sits on the Danbury Peninsula above Sandusky Bay in Ottawa County, Ohio. It follows the New England hall and parlor plan, with heavy timber framing, a side gable roof, a symmetrical front facade and Federal touches such as matching gable-end chimneys, one of them false. Stone mason William Kelly of Sandusky is believed to have built it. The house belonged to Benajah Wolcott, a Connecticut Revolutionary War veteran who arrived in 1809 as one of the first English-speaking settlers in the county and later served as the first keeper of the Marblehead Lighthouse. Local legend of gun ports earned it the name Old Stone Fort, though the form considers actual use as a fort unlikely. It is described as the oldest known surviving residence in the county and a rare intact example of its type. Restoration by the county historical society began in 1990.","period_of_significance":"1832","architect_builder":"William Kelly","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant on the form. The county historical society, which bought the house, began restoration in September 1990, including removal of the added front porch and de-vining of the walls.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.38935-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/91000251.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000251/5efe1183a4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000251/5efe1183a4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DanburyTwpOH_BenajahWolcottHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DanburyTwpOH_BenajahWolcottHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990831","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benajah_Wolcott_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28458506"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/ottawa-county/wolcott-benajah-house-91000251/"}