The Slocum House - 831 Center Street

In general, the house has an early Gothic Revival character with a central pointed arch, recessed wings and a bracketed and denticulated cornice.
An 1874 Ashland map shows a lot on the east side of Center Street that is owned by Frank Slocum. He was the son of Eli Slocum, who quite possibly passed the property down to his son prior to 1874. The map shows a house on the lot that, because of its architectural type, is believe to be the same house that is there today. It is surrounded by farmland.
About 1882, Slocum sold to John Ferrell, who had an apple orchard in the area where the street is today that bears his name. The street is so narrow it could have been a lane through the orchard. The Ferrells had two daughters, Mary and Eva. Mary married Harry Winbigler and lived in the house where she grew up for the rest of her life. City directories list harry as a traveling salesman. Mrs. Winbigler once taught at Nelson 1-room school on Wells Road in Milton Township.

After her husband’s death, she continued to live in the house until 1942, when she sold to Carrie Straits Norris, who then sold to Roy O. Lemons in 1945. Lemons is sometimes listed with “Rev.” before his name, although he did not have a church here. His wife was a seamstress and worked at the Cresco Company, where they made leather and cloth jackets for men and women.

Eva married H.A. Mowrey, Ashland’s leading photographer, and the couple built the house on the other corner of Ferrell Avenue in 1906. It remained in the family for several years and last was occupied by Marguerite Mowrey Neal, the daughter, who returned to live here following the death of her husband while he was a young man.

Meanwhile, the Slocum house was sold to attorney Joe and Jean Mason in 1960. Here they raised their three sons. Only six families have lived here in more that 130 years.