Twelve Mile House
Why it's listed
Built around 1842 at 11006 Reading Road in Sharonville, Ohio, this three-story brick building served as an inn and tavern roughly twelve miles from central Cincinnati. Daniel Mills established it as traffic grew on the road linking Cincinnati, Lebanon and Springfield, completed in 1841. The first floor held dining rooms and a barroom for travelers and townspeople, while the upper floors provided overnight lodging. The Mills family kept the property until 1861, and it operated as a hotel with restaurant and bar until after 1912. Its popularity increased in the 1870s with the arrival of the railroad and a nearby station. In the 1920s and 30s the upper floors were converted to apartments, and later commercial uses occupied the ground floor. The exterior shows Greek Revival character, with a seven-bay facade, a low gable roof and parapet gables. Stone pilasters and a lintel with beer mug and grape motifs were added in the 1880s. The City of Sharonville later acquired the building and commissioned a preservation study.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is a good example of Greek Revival style used for an inn and tavern, with simple, austere lines. It also reflects the commercial role of the inn as a stagecoach and freight stop on the Cincinnati-Lebanon-Springfield road, and later near the railroad station.
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 76001452, listed September 1, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 11006 Reading Rd., Sharonville |
|---|---|
| County | Hamilton County |
| Listed | September 1, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76001452 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1842 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as unoccupied and in good, altered condition; owned by the City of Sharonville, which acquired it in a street improvement program and is considering adaptive uses. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 39.26860, -84.41276 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 76001452.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7857627
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.