{"nrhp_refnum":"92000973","name":"Krug House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3473 Sweet Potato Ridge Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Union","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":39.89168922500005,"lon":-84.31931661499993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-08-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Pennsylvania farmhouse at 3473 Sweet Potato Ridge Road near Union, in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, built in 1879-1880 on a 2.2-acre parcel with a garage and garden shed.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criterion C because the house keeps nearly all of its original architectural and engineering features. It is a good example of the Pennsylvania German farmhouse type, with a symmetrical four-bay facade, double front doors and a three-room core plan. Its built-in ventilation system, with wooden ducts, wall channels and exterior grills, may be unique among houses of the period. It was built by Reformed Mennonite craftsmen for Benjamin and Susanna Krug.","narrative":"Built in 1879-1880 on Sweet Potato Ridge Road near Union, Ohio, this two-story brick farmhouse was erected for Benjamin and Susanna Krug, members of a Pennsylvania Reformed Mennonite family that settled in Randolph Township. Four Mennonite craftsmen from Medway signed a date block hidden in the walls. The house follows the Pennsylvania German farmhouse type, with a symmetrical four-bay facade, double front doors, end chimneys and a three-room core plan. A summer kitchen holds a beehive bakeoven with two chimneys, and a larder and meat-curing room sit nearby. The house is notable for a ventilation system of grilled vents, transoms, wooden ducts and brick channels that cools the building and carries cooking odors up the chimney. The nomination found no similar system described for homes of the era. Most original windows, doors, shutters and porches survive. A restoration in 1983-1984 kept changes minimal and reversible. The house was listed for its architecture and engineering.","period_of_significance":"1879-1880","architect_builder":"Builders J. Hawthorn (Hawthorne), J.P. Swartley, H. McMullen and J. Willhelm (Wilhelm), Reformed Mennonite craftsmen from Medway, Ohio","architectural_style":"Pennsylvania Farmhouse (Pennsylvania German)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still a single-family dwelling. Restored 1983-1984 with minimal, reversible changes; the slate roof was replaced with fiberglass shingles.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:15.151781-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/92000973.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000973/5b6f86f9db-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000973/5b6f86f9db-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krug_House_in_Union.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krug_House_in_Union.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990516","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138638547"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/krug-house-92000973/"}