William Tricker Inc. Historic District
Also known as: Independence Nurseries Company; W.G. O'Brien, Inc.
Why it's listed
Eight miles south of Cleveland, a three-acre nursery in Independence, Ohio, preserves a rare commercial aquatic farm. Its core includes a 1928 concrete block main building holding the store, office and laboratory, a second 1928 building for potting and storage, and eight Lord and Burnham greenhouses with cypress and glass roofs and cement tanks for water lilies and fish. A spring flowing from an old sandstone quarry, outdoor ponds from about 1919 and a natural gas well drilled around 1900 still serve the operation. The property mattered because of what happened here between 1919 and 1934. It became a leading grower of aquatic plants and a major distributor of tropical fish. Chemist William G. O'Brien, who bought the business in 1924, developed the first pH test kit on the site, and in 1934 the firm introduced the first outside aquarium air filter made in the United States. The site retains much of its original character.
Significance in brief: The nursery grew into a pioneering aquatic greenhouse business that produced water lilies, tropical fish and aquarium supplies. Research on the property in the mid-1920s led to the first pH test kit, invented by chemist William G. O'Brien, and to the first outside aquarium air filters in the U.S. in 1934. It is also tied to O'Brien's productive years.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01000200, listed March 2, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 7125 Tanglewood Rd., Independence |
|---|---|
| County | Cuyahoga County |
| Listed | March 2, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000200 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1919-1934 |
| Architect / builder | Lord and Burnham Company (greenhouses) |
| Architectural style | Early 20th Century/Commercial Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Invention, Agriculture, Other |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Virtually unchanged since 1928; greenhouses, cement tanks, ponds and spring are still in use for aquatic plants and fish. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 41.38900, -81.63950 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01000200.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.