Architects Joseph Yost and Frank Packard in Ohio: Clinton, Fayette, Highland, Madison, Pickaway and Ross Counties
PLEASE NOTE: This blog contains a number of pictures so give it several minutes to download. The pictures download haphazardly.
This blog showcases the known designs of Columbus architects Joseph Warren Yost & Frank Lucius Packard in Clinton, Fayette, Madison, Pickaway and Ross Counties of Ohio. These two architects were in partnership during the years 1892-1899; each practiced separately before and after this period of time. The history of these structures has not been studied. The blog’s purpose is to generate local appreciation of these treasures, inspire research/promotion of them, and save/value those that remain. The Yost & Packard firm, nationally recognized, would likely be considered one of Ohio’s most significant.
A few comments regarding this blog:
It was rewarding to find that 17 of the 20 houses in this blog have survived though most have lost their decorative trim that was so popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Finding all 8 houses in London was a challenge. I am indebted to local historian Earl Ballenger who put up with multiple emails and went the extra mile for a complete stranger, me.
Four schools have survived. One of those, the former Circleville High School, has been repurposed as senior housing…which means that building will be around for a long time. Survival of the others is doubtful.
Frank Packard designed 9 Carnegie libraries in Ohio including one in this blog located in Washington Court House. If you are interested in seeing the others, here is the link to a blog with pictures of these buildings.
I would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in contributing to this blog: Earl Ballenger, London historian; Amanda Fairchild, Lafayette United Methodist Church; John Glaze and Vicki Knauff, Highland County Historical Society; Keith and John Howard, Valentine and Dollie Wilson house, Lafayette; Jennifer Hunter, Madison County Auditor; Sue Mattinson, South Charleston Ohio Heritage Commission; Robert Parrott, Union County Historical Society; Chuck Reed, Madison County Recorder; Wendy Royse and Harold Schmidt, Greenfield Historical Society; Bob Russell, Fayette County Historical Society; Dick Shank, London; Suzy Smith, Dennis and Martha Winchester house, London; Lisa Uhrig, Ross County Historical Society; Darlene Weaver, Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical Library; Mike Wells, Wilmington Public Library of Clinton County.
Published 6/26/2022 by Don Foster. donfoster73@gmail.com
Clinton County
New Vienna: Grade/high school. Built 1917. Designed by Packard.Today, vacant.Wilmington: Masonic Temple, Lodge #52. 34 West Main Street. Built 1911/12. Dedicated 6/27/1913. Designed by Packard. Still occupied by the Masons.
Clinton County Democrat 2/16/1911.
Clinton County Democrat 11/7/1912. Ground floor and basement of the Masonic Temple first occupied by dry goods merchant Watt & Patterson which opened 9/1912.
Wilmington: Edgar Elizas (“Elias”) and Mary Lovada (“Vada”) Pavey Haines residence. 364 East Locust Street. Built 1918, the same year as the New Vienna school previously shown. Elias was raised in New Vienna which may have been his connection to selecting Packard as architect of their house. Razed. A picture has not been discovered. Perhaps a reader of this blog will have one. Above is what replaced the Haines home…ugh.
Dayton Journal Herald 1/26/1941.
Wilmington: First Baptist Church. The Yost & Packard promotional publication Portrait of Architectural Realities includes this church among the designs listed. First Baptist did not construct a new building in the Y&P era, and the one built later was not a design of that era.
Fayette County
Jeffersonville: Grade/high school. The article below, which is confusing, appeared in The Columbus Dispatch. The above building was constructed in 1894. The next school in town was constructed in 1934. So Packard must have designed a replacement heating system…which records show he did in other communities throughout Ohio. Perhaps the 1894 building was designed by Yost & Packard. It’s similar to other Y&P designs of the 1890’s.Razed. Photo credit: Fayette County Historical Society.The Columbus Dispatch 9/14/1913.Washington Court House: Carnegie Public Library. 127 South North Street. Built 1904. Designed by Packard. The library remains in this building to this day…with additions at each end as pictured below.Rendering of the Washington Court House library, The Columbus Dispatch 4/19/1903.Washington Court House: Y.M.C.A. Main and Market Streets. Built circa 1912. Designed by Packard. Razed.Photo credit: Fayette County Historical Society.Washington Court House: Harris Bereman and Mary Maynard Dahl residence. 554 Washington Avenue. Built circa 1900. Designed by Yost & Packard. The picture above and the one below appear in the Y&P promotional publication Portfolio of Architectural Realities. Harris’ sisters Anne and Elizabeth also owned Packard-designed homes as shown below.Photo credit: Fayette County Historical Society.Today the former Dahl residence houses the Kirkpatrick Funeral Home.
This picture accompanied the obituary that appeared in the Washington Court House Herald 6/12/1922.
Editorial that appeared in the Washington Court House Herald 6/13/1922.
Washington Court House: Thomas William and Anne Dahl Marchant residence. Anne was the sister of Harris Dahl whose house is shown above and Elizabeth Dahl Millikan whose house is shown further below. 509 Washington Avenue. Built 1902. Designed by Packard. Photo credit: Fayette County Historical Society.Today the former Marchant residence houses Roberts Funeral Home and Cremation Services. With additions, the original structure looks significantly different today.
Washington Court House Record-Herald 6/13/1939.
Washington Court House: Cornet Edgar and Eva Lester Lloyd residence. 404 Rawling Street. Built 1912. Designed by Packard.
Washington Court House Record-Herald 2/3/1941.
Washington Court House: Baldwin Hartzell and Elizabeth Dahl Millikan residence. 422 North North Street (North North not a typo). Built circa 1900. Designed by Packard. Elizabeth was the sister of Harris Dahl and Anne Dahl Marchant whose houses were shown above. Photo credit: Fayette County Historical Society.
The Columbus Dispatch 3/21/1914. Two interesting notes: (1) the Virginia Hotel mentioned above was a Packard designand(2) Millikan was president of the Board of Trustees of the State Industrial School for Girls in Delaware also designed by Packard.
Washington Court House: James William and Carrie Spangler Willis residence. 101 Lakeview Avenue at Van Deman Street (NW corner), but later moved to 622 Van Deman Street.Built circa 1900. Designed by Packard.
Cincinnati Enquirer 7/26/1906.
HighlandCounty
The Columbus Dispatch 4/19/1903.Greenfield: Coke Leigh and Gertrude Priddy Doster residence. 804 Jefferson Street. Built circa 1903. Designed by Packard. Photo credit: Greenfield Historical Society.Photo credit: Greenfield Historical Society.
Photo credit: Greenfield Historical Society.
Passed in 1926. Photo credit: Greenfield Historical Society.
Hillsboro: Highland County Jail and Sheriff’s Office (stone building to the right of the courthouse). Governor Foraker Place. Built 1895. Designed by Yost. Photo credit above: Highland County Historical Society.Office space today.
Madison County
Lafayette: Methodist Episcopal Church. Cumberland Street at Gay Street (U.S. Route 40). Built 1892. Designed by Yost & Packard. Destroyed by a propane explosion/resulting fire in 1975. Rebuilt. Photo credit above and directly below: Lafayette United Methodist Church.A page from The Lafayette Church and Its Heritage (by Rebecca Beach France) housed at the Archives of Ohio United Methodism at Ohio Wesleyan University. Note that V.H. Wilson was one of the significant financial contributors. The church connection to Yost & Packard is likely what led to his selecting the firm to design his house (further below).The Columbus Dispatch 11/6/1975.Lafayette United Methodist Church today.Lafayette: Valentine Henry and Dollie Jones Wilson residence (“Maple Villa”). 380 Old US Highway 42 SE. Built 1892/93. Designed by Yost & Packard. Photo credit: Madison County History and Genealogy website.Photo credit: Keith and John Howardof current owner family.39 pages of specifications for this house. Photo credit: Keith and John Howardof current owner family.Discovered when wallpaper removed. “John Hunt with the Batterson Decorative House, 5/6 1893, Columbus, O.” Photo credit: Keith and John Howardof current owner family.
Batterson ad from The Columbus Dispatch 7/29/1893.
Valentine Henry Wilson. Photo credit: FamilySearch.
The Columbus Dispatch 10/24/1898.
From History of Madison County, Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions.London: Winchester Block. 11 South Main Street. Housed Winchester Brothers Clothing on the first floor. Built 1903/04. Designed by Packard.The Winchester Block is the 3rd building from the right. Photo credit: Madison County Historical Society and John Howard.London: Dennis Warner and Martha Glenn Winchester residence. 118 North Main Street. Built circa 1892. This is the same Winchester of the Winchester Block pictured above. Designed by Yost & Packard.Yost & Packard also designed a house next door for Dennis Winchester’s brother John, below.These two houses have identical floor plans.Photo credit: Suzy Smith, London.London: John Clark and Leila Halladay Winchester residence. 122 North Main Street. Built 1893. This is the same Winchester of the Winchester Block pictured above. Designed by Yost & Packard.John Winchester and son James on left and son Fred on right. Photo credit: Suzy Smith, London.
The Lima News 11/16/1947.
London: Dr. Henry James and E. Katherine Dooris Sharp residence. 60 North Main Street. Built 1894.Designed by Yost & Packard.
Dr. Henry James Sharp. Photo credit: FamilySearch.
Dr. Henry James Sharp. Photo credit: FamilySearch.
London: Lawrence Reed and Jessie Farrar Watts residence. 177 North Main Street. Built circa 1901. London postmaster; manager grain elevator. Jessie Farrar Watts was the niece of Mrs. John Farrar for whom Yost & Packard designed a house (as shown further below). Designed by Packard.
The Columbus Dispatch 1/10/1943.
London: Edwin Norton and Harriet Mitchell Gunsaulus residence. 183 North Main Street. Built 1893. Edwin was the owner/editor/publisher of the London Times. Designed by Yost & Packard.
I debated a long time about adding this sad history to the blog. All four children were born in London. The family left after this tragedy and Edwin later married again. The Columbus Dispatch 5/27/1901.London: Mrs. John Farrarresidence (Sarah Holloway Farrar, widow of John Farrar who passed away in 1878). 192 South Main Street. Built circa 1895. John Farrar was in the grain milling business with his brother William. Designed by Yost &Packard.
Sarah Holloway Farrar. Photo credit: FamilySearch.
London: Francis Marion and Mary Lane Harvey residence. 175 East 1st Street at Maple Street. Built circa 1896. Designed by Yost & Packard.
The Columbus Dispatch 3/26/1926.
London: John Malloy and Mary Elizabeth (Bessie) Riley residence. Originally located at the southeast corner of South Main Street at East First Street (below). Later moved down the street on East First. Built circa 1882-85. John Riley became a shoe manufacturer in Columbus. Designed by Yost & Packard.Old postcard showing the house (on right) relocated to East First Street.Vacant today and likely won’t be there much longer.M. Riley, John’s father, arrived in London in 1866 and established the wholesale/retail liquor/grocer business of M. Riley & Son which John joined in 1877.The loss of this house would be a sad demise for a member of a London pioneer family who later made a name for himself in Columbus.
The Columbus Dispatch 8/31/1938.
An addition in 1911 to the factory (built in 1906) at 324 South Front Street was designed by Frank Packard.Photo credit: Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Ad in The Columbus Dispatch.
The Columbus Dispatch 4/7/1911.
The Columbus Dispatch 9/3/1911.
As noted in this obituary, Mrs. John Riley’s sister was Mrs. Edward Kennedy Stewart whose Columbus home below was designed by Frank Packard. This connection likely led to the Riley’s selecting Yost & Packard as the architects of their London home. Xenia Daily Gazette 2/20/1894.
The Columbus Dispatch 4/24/1904.MIdway (aka Sedalia): Public School. State Route 38. Built 1890. Designed by Yost. Razed.Plain City: Public school. West Main Street. Built 1890-91. Designed by Yost. Razed. Photo credit: Union County Historical Society.Minutes in the archives of the Jonathan Alder School District confirming Yost as architect. Photo credit: Union County Historical Society.Ohio State Journal 10/13/1929. School in top left-hand corner.West Jefferson: First Baptist Church. Main Street (U.S. Route 40). Build date TBD. Designed by Yost & Packard, but likely by Yost. Razed.
Pickaway County
Circleville: Circleville High School. 532 South Court Street. Built 1917. Designed by Packard.Today the high school has been repurposed and is now Everts Hill Senior Living Apartments.Circleville: Corwin Street Elementary School. Built 1916. Designed by Packard. Razed. Photo credit: PIckaway County Historical and Genealogical Library.Circleville: Henry Macdonald (Mack), Sr. and Sarah Amberg Parrett residence. 122 West Franklin Street. Built 1909. Mack Parrett had a downtown retail clothing business. Designed by Packard.Lots of remuddling of this house over the years.
The Ohio Architect and Builder 1909vol 14.
Orient: Orient State Institute. 11271 State Route 762.This branch of the Columbus State School dates to 1898 which is likely when the building above was constructed. It may have been designed by Yost & Packard. Packard did design some of this campus as indicated in the article below. Per the Ohio History Connection website, “the institution helped provide students with learning and social problems with the skills necessary to lead productive lives.” Another website stated that the school had its own band, choir, orchestra, recreation, religious services and weekly movies. It closed in 1950.
The Columbus Dispatch 5/20/1906.
Renamed the Correctional Reception Center, today the Orient facility is a state prison for men. Based on this view from State Route 762, some of the original buildings still stand.Orient: Elementary school. High Street. Built 1920. Designed by Packard. Photo credit: Ohio’s Small Town Museum, Ashville.The Columbus Dispatch 4/18/1920.Students in Orient attended high school in Commercial Point. The elementary school closed in 1938, and students transferred elsewhere in Pickaway County. This building has housed a manufacturing operation and now appears to be vacant.
Ross County
Chillicothe: Walnut Street Methodist Episcopal Church. 16 South Walnut Street. Built 1905. Designed by Packard.Today, Walnut Street United Methodist Church.Chillicothe: Mount Logan Tuberculosis Sanitorium. Pohlman Road. Built 1910. Designed by Packard. Razed.Chillicothe: Chillicothe High School. West Fifth Avenue. Built 1901. Designed by Packard. Razed.Chillicothe: Scioto Valley Traction Company depot. 291-295 East Main Street. Built 1911. Designed by Packard. Razed.Chillicothe: Central National Bank. 1 North Paint Street. Designed by Packard. Photo credit: Ross County Historical Society.Construction underway in 1907. Photo credit: Ross County Historical Society.Chillicothe: Valley Savings Bank & Trust Company. 28 North Paint Street. This was a 1907 Packard remodel of likely the interior with perhaps some tweaking of the exterior (Packard did not design the structure). The bank name is on the corner awnings.Photo credit: Ross County Historical Society. Razed. Today the site of the Ross County Jail/Law Enforcement Complex.Chillicothe: Masonic Temple, Scioto Lodge #6. 57 East Main Street. Built 1904. Designed by Packard. Above rendering from The Columbus Dispatch 7/12/1903.Still occupied by the Masons.The bay-windowed building to the right of thelodge was also designed by Packard. Postcard picture enlarged and described below.Chillicothe: Dr. Gilbert Everett and Francis Renick Robbins residence/physician office. 63/65 East Main Street.Built 1901. Designed by Packard.Razed.Today, a small parking lot.
Chillicothe Gazette 10/7/1927.
Chillicothe: Zimaroy Fernando Downs residence. 53 West Fourth Street. Built 1901. Designed by Packard.Photo credit: Ross County Historical Society. Razed.Today the four concrete squares that were part of a border between the lawn and the sidewalk are all that remains.
Chillicothe Gazette 7/27/1905.
Chillicothe: Franklin residence. 80 South Paint Street. Built 1907 by Dr. Gustavus Scott and Mary Foulke Franklin for their children Charles, Elizabeth and Marianne. Designed by Packard. Photo credit: Ross County Historical Society (which also has the original blueprints).
Photo credit: Ross County Historical Society.
Chillicothe Gazette 2/7/1901.
Chillicothe: Herbert Edgar and Ida Row Holland residence. 280 Church Street. Built 1903. Herbert Holland was a partner in Holland & Long Furniture. Designed by Packard.
Chillicothe Gazette 5/15/1920.Kingston: Kingston High School. 39 North Main Street. Built 1917. Designed by Packard. Photo credit: Ross County Historical Society.Today, vacant.
Histories and Mysteries 