Fifth and Lawrence Streets Residential District

Spacious, tree-lined streets west of downtown Ironton, Ohio, make up a neighborhood of about four blocks that has largely kept its original form since it was laid out soon after the town was platted in 1849. Most buildings date from 1850 to 1880 and include Greek Revival, Italianate, French Second Empire and Romanesque Revival designs. The brick Italianate house at 305 North Fifth Street was built in 1850 by John Campbell, founder of Ironton and the leading iron manufacturer of the Hanging Rock Iron Region. His brother Hiram, also an ironmaster, built a Second Empire house next door. Other homes belonged to a physician, a cut nail factory owner, a dry goods family and an iron furnace builder. The First Presbyterian Church, built 1873 to 1882, is a visual focal point. The district is notable for its cohesive architecture and for its links to the iron industry that shaped Ironton's economy and social life in the nineteenth century.