Ames, Charles Rice, House

Built around 1843, this T-shaped Greek Revival house at 2212 Miller Avenue in Belpre, Ohio, sits on a spacious lawn. A two-story central block with a pedimented gable faces south and is flanked by two-story wings with matching pediments. The timber frame has beveled siding and rests on a cut sandstone foundation. A recessed three-bay porch with pillars in antis shelters the entrance, and the wall above is decorated with pilasters and Greek frets. Charles Rice Ames, a native of Braintree, Massachusetts, had the house built, and carpenter and wheelwright Daniel Fischer is believed to have done the construction. It stands on a Revolutionary War land grant earned through the service of Ames's grandfather, the Rev. Sylvanus Ames, who died at Valley Forge. Ames's son Frederick, a stockman who exported draft horses, later lived here. The house is regarded as the finest Greek Revival example in Belpre and reflects the town's New England roots. The exterior has changed little since the nineteenth century.