Evans House
Also known as: Erb House
Why it's listed
Set in an isolated wooded hollow near Vinton in Gallia County, this two-story log house began as the farmhouse of a small subsistence farm. The front section measures 17 by 25 feet and is built of half-dovetail notched logs, with a gable roof, a sandstone-based exterior chimney of hand-made brick, and a shed-roofed front porch. A board-and-batten frame ell sits at the rear. One log carries a faint "1815" inscription, but ownership can be verified only from 1854, when Welsh immigrant Evan Evans was recorded with 81 acres. The building appears to date from the mid-nineteenth century. Its significance rests on its form: it closely matches the rectangular mountain cabin described by folklorist Henry Glassie, with an end chimney, a gable roof and a former partition creating a larger fireplace room. Log houses of this kind are disappearing in the region, and nearby examples are mostly abandoned or heavily altered. Later outbuildings were excluded from the listing.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a good example of a traditional log folk house form once common in southern Ohio's Appalachian region and now endangered by deterioration and alteration. It closely matches Henry Glassie's "rectangular" mountain cabin type, with a gable roof, an end chimney and a former two-room division. A cursory survey of nearby townships found about a dozen log structures, all abandoned, deteriorated or heavily altered.
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 84003692, listed July 19, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Coal Valley Rd., Vinton |
|---|---|
| County | Gallia County |
| Listed | July 19, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84003692 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1850s |
| Architectural style | Log folk house (rectangular southern mountain cabin type) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a private residence; interior in good condition. It was rehabilitated in the late 1970s, when 1940s siding was removed to expose the logs. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.96615, -82.43379 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 84003692.
- 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.