Barney Kelley House

The Barney Kelley House is a historic residence in Washington Court House, Ohio, United States. Built amid a period of commercial prosperity for the city, it was home to some of the area's leading businessmen for many decades.

Barney Kelley House
Front of the house
Barney Kelley House is located in Ohio
Barney Kelley House
Barney Kelley House is located in the United States
Barney Kelley House
Location321 E. East St., Washington Court House, Ohio
Coordinates39°32′12″N 83°26′10″W
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1875 (1875)
ArchitectL.C. and B.S. Coffman; Amos Cooke
Architectural styleItalianate
NRHP reference No.79001834[1]
Added to NRHPApril 17, 1979

Born in 1834 in Ireland, Barney Kelley immigrated to the United States and moved to Washington Court House in the 1860s. At this time, the city was growing rapidly due to improved transportation: multiple railroads served the city, making it a fine site for commerce. Kelley soon opened a combined saloon and general store on East Main Street, selling everything from food to cutlery.[2]: 410  In 1875, he arranged for the construction of the present house;[1] and at this address he lived until selling it to Thomas Craig in 1896. Craig and his family, the owners of the city's Craig Brothers Department Store, owned the house until 1975.[2]: 410 

The Kelley House is a brick building with a stone foundation, an asphalt roof, and various additional elements of stone.[3] Designed and built by L.C. and B.C. Coffman and by Amos Cooke,[1] it is one of several Italianate houses in the city, but none of the others feature the Kelley House's most prominent component. Some of its typical Italianate features include the ornamental frieze, the cornice supported by pairs of brackets, the keystones and architraves on the rounded arched windows, and the quoins. Setting the house apart from the other Italianate residences is its unusual circular front dormer window,[2]: 410  set in a semicircular extension of the facade. The side of the house is divided into two bays and the front into three, with the main entrance in the middle; a porch is placed across the full width of the facade.[3] Washington Court House is not the only city in the region in which circular dormer windows are rare; the Doan House is the only such residence with such a window in Wilmington to the southeast.[2]: 149 

In 1979, the Kelley House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One of several houses in the city with this distinction, it was listed both because it was the home of a prominent local citizen and because of its architecture.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999.
  3. Kelley, Barney, House, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2013-05-27.
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