Tanner, William C., House
Why it's listed
Northwest of Zanesville, in Falls Township, stands a braced-frame farmhouse built probably around 1840 by William C. Tanner. It is sheathed in beveled poplar siding, rests on a sandstone foundation and has a slate roof. A five-bay south facade is centered on a small portico with fluted pillars and a plain pediment. At the rear, an original gable-roof kitchen ell and a smaller section, perhaps a summer kitchen, extend backward. Inside, the plan is an I-house with an enclosed stair just inside the entrance, and much of the random-width flooring and several fireplaces remain. Tanner, born in 1816, was the son of Edward Tanner, the township's first settler. He farmed the family land all his life and served as captain of Company G, 97th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the Civil War. The house is valued for its lack of alteration and for surviving above the flood plain, while Dillon Dam's reservoir claimed many early structures nearby.
Significance in brief: It is nominated as a relatively intact survival of a midwestern rural residence from the second quarter of the nineteenth century. It is also tied to William C. Tanner, a Civil War captain and prominent farmer, and son of Falls Township's first settler. It survives above the flood plain, while nearby early buildings were lost to Dillon Dam and its flooding.
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 79001922, listed September 17, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NW of Zanesville, Zanesville |
|---|---|
| County | Muskingum County |
| Listed | September 17, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001922 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1840 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Vernacular I-house with simplified Classical ornament (folk house) |
| Areas of significance | Military, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Exterior described as essentially unaltered; the house is occupied as a private residence. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 39.99714, -82.09795 (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 79001922.
- 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.