'The houses all have their own stories'

Two houses down from the corner of Locust and South Main streets, there is a house with a bright yellow door. The home, at 1030 S. Main St., was bought by Bertha, the wife of John Nelson Doty, on Oct. 11, 1886, for $550 — the equivalent of $16,534 today. John Doty has long since passed, but today the house is still owned by a Doty, though there is no relation. Dr. Stan Doty and Lela Doty bought the house in 1991. The residence was one of six homes featured in the Hancock Historical Museum's Historic Home Tour on Sunday. "The house has never been cleaner," Lela said in jest as she welcomed a group of walkers from her porch into her house for a tour. 1030 S. Main St. The Doty family originally owned a house further down the road, at 1333 S. Main St. The previous owner of 1030 S. Main St. got ahold of the Dotys to let them know she was retiring and moving to Columbus to be near family. The Dotys were happy with their current house, but the owner insisted they stop by for a look. "She said, 'A Doty built this house, and I think a Doty should own this house,'" Lela said. They took a look at it and fell in love with the beautiful woodwork of the house "in all of its glory." After seeing the house, the Dotys got back in their car and Lela said, "I think we are going to buy a house further down the street." Lela had wanted to be on the home tour, recognizing that should the house be sold before appearing on the tour, there was increased risk of the wood being painted or carpeted over. "The good thing about living in a historic home, it's so unique," Lela said. She values the craftsmanship of period homes, whose makers would hand carve the wood molding and hand nail each tiny nail. "I love history, the history of the house," Lela said. "The houses all have their own stories." 214 Glendale Ave. Sometimes the stories the houses contain are literal, like at 214 Glendale Ave. Today, the home is owned by Kerry and Abby Trombley. Some time ago, it was owned by R.L. Heminger, a staff member of the Morning Republican (one of the precursors to The Courier). Heminger's son Ed, at age 10, would work in the basement of the house, making his own local newspaper for the community. Dubbed The Glendale Times, Ed had a circulation of about 125 subscribers. He would later go on to become the owner of the Findlay Publishing Co. More recently, in 2016, local filmmaker KC Allen chose the house to stage his horror film, "Dark of the Night." The house changed hands in and out of the Heminger family, from the Hemingers to Fred and Deborah Adams, then back to Karl Heminger in 2002. It was then sold to the Trombleys in 2016. "It's neat to be a part of the history of Findlay and the wonderful homeowners of South Main Street and Glendale Avenue," said Kerry. Both he and his wife have been happy with the neighborhood since moving in from the Lake Forest area. "We liked the location," said Abby, adding that they were excited to be closer to downtown. There have been a number of small remodels since the Trombleys moved in, but a vast majority of the house remains intact. Kerry remembered a quote from Ed Heminger's biography: "This house is built like a battle ship." 301 Glendale Ave. Just down the road stands a house at 301 Glendale Ave., owned by Jeffery Roth and Andrea Clinger-Roth. Several volunteer docents from the Hancock Historical Museum highlighted a stamp on the floor of the coat closet, added by the original owner. The stamp includes the name "Arthur D. Patterson" followed by the year the house was built, 1929, and a French phrase "La bonne vie" — "The Good Life." Patterson is a well-known name in Findlay, made famous by Patterson's Department Store. The former business holds the record as the longest running family-owned business in Ohio, from 1849 to 1982. Arthur was a colonel in the U.S. Army in World War I, and he took a liking to the French farmhouses he had seen overseas. After returning from the war, he commissioned an architect from Toledo to replicate one of those farmhouses in Findlay. "It's kind of boxy looking, but when you walk in, it is a very open floor plan," said Jeffrey Roth. The house had already seen a few modern updates before it came into the Roths' possession in 2019. The pair have gone on to add their own special touches, including some painting and new furniture. But even before they knew they loved the house, the couple knew they wanted to be closer to downtown Findlay. "We looked at everything," said Jeff. "But when we walked in, we immediately knew," said Andrea, before both of them finished: "It was us." 1130 S. Main St. The Roths were among several homeowners who chose to display the house's blueprints. Over at 1130 S. Main St., blueprints were splayed across a dining room table for visitors to inspect. The house belongs to Jocko and Alanna Langlois. The family has been in and out of Findlay over the years, due to Jocko's work with Marathon Petroleum Corp., but they plan to live in the home for some time. "We just love historic homes," said Alanna. Their house was one of a set of twins — the other stands to the right, at 1128 S. Main St. — built for the sons of Albert Dorsey. Drawings hang from the walls of their kitchen, across from a box with a pull cord. The box is tied to all the doorbells in the house. Should a doorbell ring, a number corresponding to the door pops up indicating which door to answer. Pulling the cord resets the device. Jocko said the previous owners did a great job of updating the house to make it easier to move into. Very little work was needed. 1304 S. Main St. Sunday's event marked the fourth time the home at 1304 S. Main St. had opened its doors for this tour. The house has also played host to a Victorian Christmas dinner. "This is our fourth one, so this is kind of old hat for us," said owner Jeff Gertz. "But we love the Hancock Historical Museum folks. They are really great to work with. It's really good for building relationships. That's the big thing, engaging with people who live in the community and enjoying the historical value of the home." The home, in the Second Empire style, was built in 1888 by John Decker. The house changed hands a handful of times in 1911, 1954, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1986, 1992 and finally came to be owned by Jeff and his wife Melissa in 2002. "We liked the woodwork," Jeff said, noting that a large percentage of the wood is original. The house underwent a fair amount of cosmetic surgery, including removing wallpaper and opening the floor plan a bit. Larger renovations were made to the home's third floor, which was turned into an entertainment area. "We added a lot of wood on the third floor," Jeff said, including walnut slabs on the floors, beams and accent walls. That includes the steps leading to the third floor, made from the wood of a tobacco barn. 1208 S. Main St. The third floor of 1208 S. Main St. serves a similar entertainment purpose. "Our kids were really little when we moved here, so the third floor was a family space," said Mary Beth Hammond. She and her husband Chris are the current owners of the house. The house was built in 1902 in the Vernacular style, meaning of materials and styles of the time. It was originally smaller in design before a previous owner added on to the structure with architecture reminiscent of the Craftsman style. The Hammonds were attracted to the history of the home. Mary Beth said the heritage of the area and the community held importance to them. "There are not a lot of communities that have historical societies like we have here in Findlay, so we are really grateful for that," she said. All of the home owners were excited to be on the tour, each offering their praise for the Hancock Historical Museum. "It is really a privilege and an honor to be able to live in such a historic home and be able to share it with people," said Andrea Roth. Lela Doty made specific mention of the excellent job the museum does with the display of the houses and the history they encase. "Some people may think history doesn't have a place anymore, but history is who we are made of. We are made from history," she said. "I'm sure there is some kind of quote there," Lela said with a chuckle before standing up from her seat and greeting another group of visitors, welcoming them in through the bright yellow door. Bean: 419-427-8420