The next topic I would like to talk about is the Fairfield Heritage Association in Lancaster, Ohio. It was created in the 1970 by seven women who wanted to take action and preserve the local historic houses, which included the birth home of General William T. Sherman. Through fundraising they were able to restore their first project, the Georgian home. It was a great example of Georgian architecture, which they wanted to save. Today, the house serves as a museum, where the volunteers don period costumes and explain to the guests the function of the various rooms.
The Georgian
In 1982, the Sherman birth home was transferred ownership the Fairfield Heritage Association from the State of Ohio. The home opened as a museum in 1983, and they stated, “the philosophy which guided the restoration of the house was that the period rooms were to be a re-creation of the Sherman family home, a home that reflects their life and circumstances, not just a collection of handsome period rooms and furniture.” The volunteers in this house also wear period costumes and guide guests.
The Sherman Home
One of the houses that the association does not own because it is a private residence is the Ewing Mansion. The Ewing Mansion is a few doors down from the Sherman home, a steadily worn path by Sherman because he spent so much time there as a youth. The patriarch of the house was Thomas Ewing, the first Secretary of the Interior, appointed by President Taylor. Sherman went on the marry Ewing’s eldest daughter Ellen.
The Ewing Home
I was friends with a woman that lives there today, and it is a spectacular home. It is rumored that Ewing hosted Abraham Lincoln there one night. Whatever the real story is, it is still a great house.
Through the dogged determination of a few ladies, many reap the rewards by having their local history preserved.
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