Madison-Stewart Historic District
Why it's listed
Madison Road and Stewart Avenue meet at the western edge of what was once the village of Madisonville, now part of Cincinnati. Around that crossing sits a compact district of mostly single-family houses built during the nineteenth century. The earliest and most prominent is the Federal-style Benjamin Stewart House at 5540 Madison Road, a brick building designed by his nephew William Stewart and built from lumber floated down the Ohio River. Nearby, Stewart Avenue holds Italianate houses at 4911, 4912 and 4915, a turreted frame house at 4904, and an Eastlake house at 4916. Brothers Charles and Jonathon Crugar built two of these houses after buying land from Benjamin M. Stewart in 1870. Many homes keep their carved wood mouldings, marble fireplaces and bracketed cornices. The district was recognized as a good collection of varied nineteenth-century vernacular buildings, with a period of significance from 1833 to about 1900.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant for its good examples of nineteenth-century vernacular buildings. Styles range from the Federal Benjamin Stewart House to the Italianate, Italian Villa and Eastlake houses along Stewart Avenue. It is also tied to the Stewart family and to other local families who built houses there.
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 75001419, listed May 29, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of Madison and Stewart Sts., Cincinnati |
|---|---|
| County | Hamilton County |
| Listed | May 29, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75001419 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1833-c1900 |
| Architect / builder | William Stewart (designer of the Benjamin Stewart House); Charles and Jonathon Crugar with carpenters A.B. Parrott, J.C. Ferris and Thomas Taggert (4911 Stewart Ave.); L.C. Weir (house at Madison Road and Stewart Avenue) |
| Architectural style | Nineteenth-century vernacular, including Federal, Italianate, Italian Villa and Eastlake |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated good and altered; mainly private residences. The house at 5515 Madison Road was scheduled for demolition. |
| Acreage | 4 |
| Coordinates | 39.15998, -84.39784 (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 75001419.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6727847
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.