Press Release - Historic District Files Injunction Against ACHS

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION
About Center Street Historic District Association

Contact Rodney Mohr, President at 419-496-2697

Kyle O. von Kamp, Secretary at 419-560-4020

or email at CenterStreetHDA@zoominternet.net

About Ashland Historic Preservation Board

Contact Kathy Aldrich at 419-207-0660

About the Ashland County Historical Society
Contact Phillip Leibolt, President of the Board of Trustees at 419-289-0000

Historic District Files Injunction Against Historical Society

The Ashland County Historical Society received a demolition permit last month for a home on the National Register of Historic Places. This classic example of colonial revival architecture was built in 1892 by Alva N. Myers, a member of the board of the F.E. Myers and Bro. Company. The house is located adjacent to the Ashland County Historical Society Campus on Center Street in the City of Ashland. In 1976 Alta Sims did research which led to the acceptance of Center Street on the National Register as a Historic District. Sims consulted with Jeff Darbee, who was with the Ohio State Preservation Office. He called Center Street “a veritable textbook of architectural styles.” Destroying any historic home on the street takes away from the District as a whole.

Ashland’s Ordinance 51-05 was enacted June 7, 2005 to “safeguard the heritage of Ashland as represented by those buildings, districts, sites and structures which reflect significant elements of Ashland history…Applications for demolition are reviewed by the Ashland Preservation Board based on the over all impact the demolition will have to the Historic District and the community.” The Preservation Board denied the request for demolition on August 2, 2006.

The Ashland County Historical Society originally submitted a proposal for demolition on June 19, 2006 causing concern among residents of the Historic District. Before applying for demolition, Tina Carpenter, Director of Operations of the Society, made a written request to change the status of the A.N. Myers Home on the National Register to non-contributing, claiming the house had lost its character and history. The Ohio Historic Preservation Office, which oversees the National Register in Ohio, denied their request stating that the home is a contributing structure and retains significant exterior architectural details.

The Center Street Historic District Association which is made up of home and business owners within the District has the purpose of educating the “public with respect to the necessity and advisability of the preservation of historic structures.” At the end of September, the Association made an offer to purchase the home in an effort to prevent its demolition. On October 25, 2006 the Association received a “final” offer from the Society to purchase the home for a dollar and move the structure. The Association was expected to reply within seven days and if the offer was accepted the home would have to be moved off of the lot by March 15, 2007. The lack of an available lot in the Historic District makes this offer impossible to consider. With hopes that the National Registered Alva N. Myers Home would be restored on its original location as a contributing structure in the Historic District and as an asset to the Society’s existing campus, the Association has filed for an injunction to prevent this demolition.