The Carter-Shinn House - 220 Center Street

Typical of homes built in the 1890s was the rounded turret with a cone shaped roof. This home was built by William Carter in 1893. Carter was in the lumber business and bought the land
from Elizah and Julia Burgess. His daughter, Louise, was born in the house, and following her marriage to T. Ellsworth Shinn, lived there except for a period when Shinn was associated with
Incorporated Stores in Lima and when he reorganized stores in Marshall Fields & Company. Shinn was the son of Thomas R. and Emma Stockwell Shinn and began his career in the clothing
business by working for his father, first in the department store known as Shinn-Stockwell in the building on the northeastern corner of Church and West Main streets and later at the Home
Co. after the store was combined with Beach and Brown to form Ashland’s big department store in 1910.
When Shinn returned from Lima in the 1930s, he purchased the Freer Bros. Clothing Co., a firm that had been in business for 60 years in the east storeroom of the Farmers (now Huntington) Bank building. Shinn Clothing Co. remained in business until the owner’s retirement in 1946 when Raymond Moore and Filson Roberts took over and renamed it Moore and Roberts. I n 1951,

Robert Roland, who had worked there, bought the business and changed the name to Roland’s Clothing Store.
At the time of Shinn’s death in 1962, he was survived by his wife, who remained in the home until 1975 when she died. A son, William was killed in World War II and a daughter died in 1936. In the early
1930s the Beta Zeta chapter of Phi Delta Kappa used this as their chapter house.
Bill and Polly Chandler purchased the home in 1978 and Chandler Electric
operated here and in a building in the rear until they moved to larger quarters.
The Owl’s Nest Gift Shop as well as Brunches originated here and a beauty
parlor used the kitchen area and the rest of the home was converted into
apartments.
In October 2004 Annette Statzer leased the home and opened a floral
shop, Annette’s Victorian Garden. In January 2007, the floral shop began
leasing the upstairs of the building for additional space for consulting.