Walking Tour-174 North Main Street-Walking Tour
(East Side of Street)

While the research done for the 1975 Historic Building /Structure Inventory Form cited circa 1871 as the construction date for this house, with carpenter James Carran as the builder/owner, the assessed value as early as 1864 seems to indicate a building of some kind on this parcel by then. The assessed value in 1864 was $250. This is the first year this parcel was listed seperately. When this assessed value is compared with the $600 value for the property to the north (in 1866 J. Axford 66 acres or part of the west 1/2 of northeast 1/4, a sizable piece of property) the $250 value seems too great for a parcel this size without a structure on it. Further increases in value may indicate additions made by Carran to the original house. The house remained in the Carran family until at least 1911. (There are no tax records available at present for 1912 & 1913.)

The style of the structure also seems to indicate the earlier construction date. The original section of the house, like many other early Village houses, is a one & 1/2 story with two story wing configuration typical of the Midwestern adaptation of the Greek Revival style. Other elements of the style are the one & 1/2 story's low-pitched gable roof with broken pediment facing the street; the recessed porch of the single story; and symmetrical placement of the windows under the gable. This house like others has two doors on the street facing facade. One door is an entrance to the one & 1/2 section while the other, at a right angle to it, is the entrance to the single story wing. These doors may have been original since it was common to have two front doors, one door was an entrance to the Sunday parlor, the other was the family entrance. However these doors may be the result of a change of use. The house was long used as a two family residence. Recently the house has undergone restoration. The garage built behind the house was built in 1998.

Official Property Description:

• Part the west 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 20 of Independence Township, not a part of Nelson W. Clark's Original Plat of the Village.
• Lot 47 of the Supervisor's Plat No.1.

Significant Property History:

[A Synopsis Of Property Transfers Derived From Abstracts
(when available) And Periodic Changes In Ownership Or
Assessed Value Derived From Township Tax Records]

• Note: All the properties currently located in the Historic District were originally part of a tract registered by Butler Holcombwith the federal government on October 22, 1831. Thus, abstracts for these properties, when they exist, show the original transfer to be from the United States to Butler Holcomb and may also include references to then President Andrew Jackson.
• 1844 Ebenezer Clark, the west 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 20, assessed value $200. Jacob Walter, 1 acre in the corner of the southwest 1/4 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 20, assessed value 420.
• 1847 Joseph Chapman, the west 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 20, assessed value $150.
• 1848 Joseph Chapman, the west 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4, assessed value $169.
• 1850 Joel Griffith, the west 1/2 of the Norheast 1/4, assessed value $250.
• 1856 Joseph Harris, the west 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 except..
• 1858 Mary Ann/Marian Harris
• 1864 E. N. Grow, assessed value $250.
• 1865 E. N. Selleck.
• 1866 Peter Beardslee, assessed value $250.
• 1867 Carran, assessed value $250.
• 1872 Map of the Village has a building footprint on this site, owner J. Carran, assessed value $450.
• 1876 Christy Carran.
• 1885 Mrs. James (Christy) Carran as guardian for Una & Lewis.
• 1896 Map of the Village. Owner, Mrs. C. Carran.
• 1910 Lewis Carran.
• 1911 Lewis Carran, assessed value $1000.
• 1914 Oliver LaMountain.
• 1940 Oliver LaMountain.
• 1956 Kenneth C. Root.
• 1976 Bud Hawk.