Chillicothe Business District

Downtown Chillicothe sits on a flat plain south of the old Scioto River channel, in an area settled by 1797 under Nathaniel Massie's offer of free town lots. Fires in 1820 and especially April 1852 destroyed much of the early business area, yet most architecture built after the 1852 fire remains. The district now shows Greek Revival, Early Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque buildings side by side. Representative properties include canal-era brick warehouses on Water Street, the 1826 Greek Revival Bank of Chillicothe building, the 1854 Warner Hotel with its mansard roof, the 1885 Carlisle Block with its corner tower, and the 1896 Foulke Block. Early settlement is recalled by Governor Arthur St. Clair's 1798 headquarters and the site of Basil Abrams's log house, where the territorial legislature once met. Recognition rests on the district's architecture and its role in the city's commerce.