Boyd - Perrysburg: Historic Architecture

The Great Black Swamp, a dismal almost uninhabitable wilderness and the last place in Ohio to be settled, once extended right up to Perrysburgs present city limits. But it was here on both sides of the foot of the rapids of the Maumee River that white civilization, first the French, then the British, and finally the Americans, probably got a start in this part of the Northwest Territory. It was a natural trade site and an important gate to the interior of the Midwest.

The towns unusual heritage of buildings reaches back almost 185 years and reflects the architectural tastes of eastern United States culture from which many early residents came. Our very first structures range from the first log cabin to John Hollisters unusually elegant home built in 1823. The earliest Perrysburg settlers recorded in letters that the first frame house on this side of the river was built by a David W. Hawley in 1817. He had reportedly brought the finished lumber by boat. The house, no longer existing, was located on the river flats at the end of what would be the northbound extension of West Boundary Street. One traveler wrote that there was not a single house on any of the in-lots (between Mulberry and Hickory, and Front and Seventh), but there were a few log cabins on some of the out-lots extending on to the three Boundary-named streets. A few roads were cut through the forest to furnish logs for a two-story county courthouse and the framework for houses-to-be, a number of which stand today but started as log structures

Nationally, we began flexing our muscles with the Monroe Doctrine opposing European intervention in the Americas, and the canal era emerged with the opening of the Erie Canal between New York City and Lake Erie. Shortly after Perrysburg was platted by the U.S. government in 1816, this area was a part of Logan County nearly 100 miles south of here. In 1820, Wood County was created, and by 1823, the town was about to spring to life, having been named the county seat despite numbering fewer than 200 inhabitants.

FIRST COURTHOUSE ON FIRST BLOCK OF WEST FRONT (BUILT IN 1823). Perrysburgs earliest buildings were made of abundantly available logs. This is a depiction of the first Wood County courthouse built by Daniel Hubbell and Guy Nearing and used as such for 14 years. It was located about 200 feet west of Louisiana Avenue on the south side of West Front Street next door to what was to be the site of the Exchange Hotel, built in the same year (see page 14). Logs were of hand-hewn oak 24 by 32 feet in size. Finished lumber was milled in Monclova, and bricks for the chimney were made at Hubbells brickworks across the river. The building had offices on the first floor and the courtroom on the second, reached by an outside stairway not shown in this sketch. A log jail, in use until 1847, was moved here and located behind the courthouse. It was enlarged to include foot-square wall and floor timbers secured by pins. Windows consisted of mere slits in the logs. All of this construction cost more than the money on hand, so contractors were paid off with town lots valued at $12 each.

WOOLFERT CABIN AT 577 EAST FRONT (BUILDING DATE UNKNOWN). Whether it is indeed some 200 years old, as once claimed by a Toledo newspaper, this restored two-story log house is typical of the earliest houses. It sat for years on an East River Road bluff less than half a mile outside of town but was moved to the 577 Foundation for educational purposes. It may have originated on a nearby farm along what is now Ford Road. A family of 11 once occupied the place.

POWELL HOUSE AT 538 WEST FRONT (BUILT IN EARLY 1820s). It is not certain who built this small house that is believed to have started as a log cabin. It is traditionally associated with Thomas W. Powell, who came from Utica, New York, as a school teacher in 1820 and who owned the property from 1825 to 1827. He was admitted to the bar and was Wood County prosecuting attorney for 10 years before leaving in 1830. The house has such Greek Revival features as a frieze board and side pilasters. A front porch was removed in recent years, and the right side of the structure could be a later addition.

SECOND POWELL HOUSE AT 300 WEST SECOND (BUILT C. 1829). This Greek Revival house is also attributed to Thomas Powell and is called a fine example of a small two over two-room residence, discounting the two wings probably added later. The street-facing gable features plain entablature along the sides, and the chimney extends through the center of the roof ridge. In 1976, the house was completely restored by the Frank Hirst family, with the original interior woodwork and molding retained. Many of the windows contain original panes.