Kennedy Stone House
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The Stone House in 2009.
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Nearest city: | North Salem, Ohio |
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Area: | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built: | 1837 |
Architectural style: | Federal |
Governing body: | State |
NRHP Reference#: | 75001412[1] |
Added to NRHP: | October 03, 1975 |
The Kennedy Stone House is located in Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, Ohio. The house and surrounding structures were placed on the National Register on October 3, 1975.
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Benjamin Kennedy, purchased an 80-acre (320,000 m2) tract of land along Sugar Creek. He commissioned a house to be built in the Federal style out of the local sandstone. The house was flanked by a root cellar, a summer kitchen, a necessary, and a well was dug.
The property remained in the Kennedy family until 1966, when it was purchased by the state to form Salt Fork State Park. The scenery changed dramatically, as the cornfield that stretched in front of the house was soon turned into a lake. Now isolated on a remote shore, the house was soon neglected and fell into disrepair.
In 1975 it was placed on the National Register and remained in its abandoned state. The roof was damaged during a storm when a tree branch fell through the roof, but the parks crew replaced it. This started a movement to fix the house and it was named the Guernsey County Bicentennial Commission Legacy Program. Local volunteers cleaned up the area and soon transformed themselves into Friends for the Restoration of The Kennedy Stone House. Major restoration was done from 2000–2002.
The organization transformed itself into the Friends of the Kennedy Stone House Salt Fork State Park and maintains the house as a museum. One of the programs the organization performs is the docent program, where retirees or history students from Muskingum College occupy a cabin above the stone house and are charged as caretakers to the property.
The stone house contains a central door reached by a flight of stairs and a small porch. The porch was once covered over during the Victorian era and contained columns and a balcony. To either side of the door are two rectangular windows. The second floor contains five windows in line over the first floor windows. The gabled roof is pierced at either end by a large stone chimney.
The house being only one room deep meant during the family's growth a new addition would be made. A two-story wooden-frame wing was added to the rear of the building and contained the summer kitchen and several bedrooms. This addition would not last and today's reconstruction only includes the summer kitchen.
A root cellar is located to the right of the house and built of thick stone blocks. The sides of the cellar are lined with dirt and plants to allow for cooler internal temperatures. The ceiling is penetrated by two diamond shaped holes for ventilation and light. The well is now covered over and a natural spring has been capped.
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