{"nrhp_refnum":"96000672","name":"Nelsonville Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Dew House Hotel","Stuart's Opera House"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Canal, Jefferson, Scott, and Madison Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Nelsonville","county":"Athens County","state":"OH","lat":39.461056515500076,"lon":-82.2326318012655,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-06-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mixed-use historic district in Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio, covering about 65 acres around the Public Square and the surrounding 19th and early 20th century residential and institutional neighborhoods. It reflects development from settlement in 1814 to the mid-20th century.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is a remarkably intact record of Nelsonville's growth as a coal and brick producing center. It is significant under Criteria A and C for architecture, community planning and development, commerce and industry. It holds the city's finest collection of residential architecture and a cohesive downtown commercial core.","narrative":"Nelsonville's historic district centers on the Public Square in a river-valley town on the Hocking River in Athens County, Ohio. Laid out on a traditional grid, it includes downtown commercial blocks and the surrounding residential neighborhoods, with 348 contributing resources: 228 houses, 35 commercial buildings, civic buildings, churches, schools, a cemetery, a fountain and 72 outbuildings. Settlement began in 1814, and nearby hills supplied the coal and clay that made the town a center of mining and brick production. Local brick appears in streets, sidewalks, Italianate homes, a church and decorative porches. Commercial buildings, mostly from 1870 to 1910, rise no higher than three stories and include Italianate and Romanesque Revival designs. Houses range from vernacular cottages and I-houses to Queen Anne, Craftsman and American Four Square examples. The district was listed for its architecture and its record of community development, commerce and industry between 1814 and 1946.","period_of_significance":"1814-1946","architect_builder":"Mills, William; Moser, John","architectural_style":"Late Victorian (Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival); Late 19th/20th Century Revivals (Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival); Bungalow/Craftsman; no style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The district is described as remarkably intact, with historic buildings and streetscapes still existing. Current functions include residential, commercial, government, religious, educational and theater uses.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.72894-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/96000672.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986719","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/athens-county/nelsonville-historic-district-96000672/"}