Mumma, Jacob H. W., House

Built around 1840 on farmland north of Dayton, this two-and-a-half storey brick house combines a Federal style plan with practical farmhouse features. Laid in seven-course American bond, it has a central hall and three wings forming a T, a raised basement built into a hillside, and limestone lintels over doors and windows. An octagonal cupola at the roof intersection, added in the later nineteenth century with Italianate brackets, balustrades and pilasters, is its most prominent feature. A summer kitchen once stood beyond the rear wing; around 1900 the gap was enclosed with a matching brick addition. A frame barn and a garage remain on the property. The builder, Jacob H. W. Mumma, was born in Pennsylvania in 1792, worked as a weaver in Maryland, and came to Dayton in 1827. After turning to farming in the 1840s, his family came to control nearly 1,300 acres and became known for fruit orchards shipped across the country. The house represents that pioneer-to-gentleman-farmer story.