The G.D. Myers House - 337 W. Walnut Street

This home was pictured in the 1915 centennial booklet.
The large brick home on the southeast corner of Grant and West
Walnut Streets was the home of George Denton and Jennie B.
(nee Heichel) Myers. Built in 1896, it would appear to suggest
they had a large family. However, they had no children but
probably had a live-in housekeeper.
G. D. and his brother Alvah Newton Myers were in the
Union Hardware and Supply business before they joined their
older brothers in the F.E. Myers and Bro. Company. The
hardware then passed to the Heichel family, G.D.’s in-laws.
Mrs. Myers died in 1929 and her husband, in 1943. The home was sold in 1944 to Paul D. and Jessie C. Harwood, who lived there until 1956. He was a scientist with the Hess and Clark Company, and Mrs. Harwood was identified with Ashland College. The next owners were Gerald and Virginia MacKellar. A history professor at Ashland College, MacKellar was a charter member of the Ashland County Historical Society board when it reorganized in 1969. The home remained in the MacKellar family until 1997. Thus from the time it was built, it had only three owners in 100 years.
From 1997 to 2008, it passed through four owners, with Larry and Debbie Eden purchasing it in 2008.
The home retains almost all of it’s original features, including woodwork, light fixtures, mantles, and flooring. The original blueprints are still with the home.

When did you buy your home? August 14, 2008

Why did you buy your home? We were downsizing and looking for a small older home. Before I came to Ashland, our realtor took Larry through the house, as she was the listing agent. He loved the house and told me about it. The house was much larger than we wanted, but I looked at it when I came to town. As we continued to look at houses, we kept talking and comparing them to this house. I finally said, “Let’s just buy it.”

What have you done to improve your house? We installed wood floors in the living room, master bedroom and sitting room, as well as refinished the remaining floors. We up dated the electric by bringing in 200 amp electrical service and rewiring the garage. We installed zoned air-conditioning, built steps from the laundry room to the backyard, and installed new linoleum floors in the laundry room and ½ bath.

Did you find any interesting historic artifacts hidden in the home? We discovered parts of the original built-in hall-tree stored under the front porch. We still need to dig everything out that is under the porch. The original blueprints to the house are still with the house. There are still metal inlets throughout the home that are original and show that a central vacuum system was built with the house.

What do you enjoy most about your home? The history of the home! The extent of original wood trim and light fixtures, even some wallpaper, still in the house.

Any other anecdotes The house was built for G.D. Myers, brother of F.E. Myers. At one time the brothers owned a lumberyard on Center Street, which later burned down. I believe a lot of the trim in the house may have come from there.