Watertown Historic District

Watertown is a small rural village in Washington County, Ohio, whose historic core includes seventy-five buildings along Beverly, Franklin and Church Streets. Nearly all are white weatherboard wood frame structures, with only three of brick. Most date from the Civil War era to World War I and are plain vernacular in form. What sets the village apart is the lacy Eastlake porches, with sawn balustrades, turned posts, brackets and spindles, added to many houses in the early twentieth century by local carpenter-builders, notably Fred Schweikert. A burst of oil development around 1900 brought new homes, an Odd Fellows hall and a bank. Italianate, Colonial Revival and vernacular commercial buildings add variety. Sixty-five buildings contribute to the district's character, while ten, including trailer houses, ranch houses and township maintenance buildings, intrude. The village was recognized for its intact architecture and its picture of small-town Midwestern life before the First World War.