The long journey of the Scott House continues
Lead Summary
By
Courtesy of John Kellis-
The Highland County Historical Society has recently been awarded a State of Ohio Capital Bill Community Improvement Project. The project is intended to address the needed repairs and improvements to the Scott House Mansion on West Main Street.
This application was submitted earlier this year by HCHS with the cooperation of Southern State Community College. It is designed to repair, treat and paint the Homes’ wooden trim, upper landing railings, cupola and widow’s walk. It will also allow the Society to replace the 25-year-old heating and air conditioning units and to improve the second story for office spaces. Other needs are improvements to the kitchenette, improvements to the drainage around the foundation and improvements to the third floor for smaller space uses such as art studios.
“The Society is so very grateful for the support of Speaker Rosenberger and Senator Peterson’s offices for the request,” stated Trustee and Finance Chair John Kellis. “The Society is searching for the right business model for the building, so the Society will be able to offset operational expenses, while at the same time developing the property as the ‘Front Door of Hillsboro.’ What a beautiful place for people to visit to get information about Hillsboro and Highland County.”
The most daunting issue facing the Society has been the needed repairs and improvements to the building. The costs associated with those repairs are simply beyond the finances of the Society and are hard to build into a reasonable rent. These authorized State bond funds make the ultimate goal(s) for the building much more likely.
“What an opportunity we have before us,” stated Justin Harsha, Trustee and Scott House Manager. “My dad was the Building Chair for the project to restore the Scott House back in the early ’90s, and as he took me through it, I saw how much time and effort they put into the restoration.”
Depending upon a person’s age, the 175-year-old Mansion may mean different things based upon your memories of the Scott House. Some people my age probably remember it as the Hillsboro Library. For many others, it is the site of a massive project taken on by local citizens to renovate the Scott House in the early 1990s. Still others are convinced it was a stop along the Underground Railroad, with a tunnel traveling under West Main Street to the home across the street.
No matter your perspective, it is evident that the Scott House remains one of the most majestic homes in Hillsboro, particularly when you include the beautiful property surrounding the mansion.
As previously stated, the Scott House is currently the property of the Highland County Historical Society, having been offered title by the Hillsboro Schools in 2013. In an attempt to find a way to preserve it for future generations, the Society accepted the building, knowing that it was not going to be an easy or a short-term project to find a permanent preserving use for the Home.
The journey for the Scott House began as the Scott family emigrated from New Hampshire to Ohio in 1810. William Scott was educated in the Law and moved to Hillsborough in 1832 to establish his law practice. The mansion’s construction was started in 1835 in what was referred to as “Log Cabin Country” to the west side of Hillsborough. It is not clear whether David Scott, William’s father, started the construction and left it in his estate to William or if William Scott built it on his own. In any case, it was completed in 1844.
Some surmise that Christopher Arthur, architect of the Highland County Courthouse, was also the architect of the Mansion, also assisting with its construction. The Scotts’ son Samuel was born and educated in Hillsboro, attending Miami University before practicing law in the western US territories. He returned to Hillsboro in in the late 1870s to assume his father’s law and financial businesses and ownership of the Scott House.
Samuel Parsons Scott died in 1929, leaving most of his estate to Jefferson Medical College, proceeds from which were used to build a library in his name in Philadelphia. His estranged wife Elizabeth died in 1946, and having no children, the Mansion was left to the Hillsboro Schools. The School rented the first floor of the building to the Hillsboro Library, who maintained it as such until 1970, thus my recollection of the Scott House as a library. That year, the Highland County Library Association built a new Library, where it stands today on Willetsville Pike and West Main Street, as the Highland County Library.
The Hillsboro community embarked upon the aforementioned restoration of the building in the early 1990s. Still visible in the Scott House are plaques, recognizing some of the major donors to that effort Vernon B. Fairley, Jim and Susan Gibbs, Fifth/Third Bank, Liberty Savings, Weastec, David and Kay Ayres and Merchants National Bank. So many others donated to the project and/or spent their time organizing and carrying out the renovation. We should all be grateful for those who headed up that effort to restore the structure.
While the school retained its administration offices in the building for another 15 years or so, the building was vacated by the school as their offices moved, which eventually led to the acquisition of the Scott House by the Historical Society.
While the Historical Society is determined to find that ultimate use for the Scott House, it is not in a position to forever absorb the expenses that are being incurred. The Trustees do not want to see the Scott House become a detriment to other projects and goals of the Society; rather, the Society is striving to see the structure produce enough income to offset the expenses incurred by the operation of the building. The Committee also sees opportunities for uses of the grounds for community events like the Chamber’s annual picnic.
The Society has appointed a Scott House Committee to manage the building and study options for its ultimate use. That committee has reviewed previous studies, proposals and ideas for the Scott House and is currently in the process of preparing a report for the Board of Trustees concerning the pros and cons of various options for its operation.
“One opportunity the $110,000 state appropriation offers the Society is the ability to rent the spaces in the Building to community-minded offices/businesses to generate enough income to cover operational expenses,” stated Jim Rooney, Society Chair.
The State Project will allow the Society to make improvements separately from the operational side of the equation, making the rentals more affordable. The Chamber of Commerce and The Ohio Valley RC&D Council are currently renting two of the four spaces.
“If the Board can identify tenants for the available spaces together with the State funds, we think we can make it work,” Rooney said.
This application was submitted earlier this year by HCHS with the cooperation of Southern State Community College. It is designed to repair, treat and paint the Homes’ wooden trim, upper landing railings, cupola and widow’s walk. It will also allow the Society to replace the 25-year-old heating and air conditioning units and to improve the second story for office spaces. Other needs are improvements to the kitchenette, improvements to the drainage around the foundation and improvements to the third floor for smaller space uses such as art studios.
“The Society is so very grateful for the support of Speaker Rosenberger and Senator Peterson’s offices for the request,” stated Trustee and Finance Chair John Kellis. “The Society is searching for the right business model for the building, so the Society will be able to offset operational expenses, while at the same time developing the property as the ‘Front Door of Hillsboro.’ What a beautiful place for people to visit to get information about Hillsboro and Highland County.”
The most daunting issue facing the Society has been the needed repairs and improvements to the building. The costs associated with those repairs are simply beyond the finances of the Society and are hard to build into a reasonable rent. These authorized State bond funds make the ultimate goal(s) for the building much more likely.
“What an opportunity we have before us,” stated Justin Harsha, Trustee and Scott House Manager. “My dad was the Building Chair for the project to restore the Scott House back in the early ’90s, and as he took me through it, I saw how much time and effort they put into the restoration.”
Depending upon a person’s age, the 175-year-old Mansion may mean different things based upon your memories of the Scott House. Some people my age probably remember it as the Hillsboro Library. For many others, it is the site of a massive project taken on by local citizens to renovate the Scott House in the early 1990s. Still others are convinced it was a stop along the Underground Railroad, with a tunnel traveling under West Main Street to the home across the street.
No matter your perspective, it is evident that the Scott House remains one of the most majestic homes in Hillsboro, particularly when you include the beautiful property surrounding the mansion.
As previously stated, the Scott House is currently the property of the Highland County Historical Society, having been offered title by the Hillsboro Schools in 2013. In an attempt to find a way to preserve it for future generations, the Society accepted the building, knowing that it was not going to be an easy or a short-term project to find a permanent preserving use for the Home.
The journey for the Scott House began as the Scott family emigrated from New Hampshire to Ohio in 1810. William Scott was educated in the Law and moved to Hillsborough in 1832 to establish his law practice. The mansion’s construction was started in 1835 in what was referred to as “Log Cabin Country” to the west side of Hillsborough. It is not clear whether David Scott, William’s father, started the construction and left it in his estate to William or if William Scott built it on his own. In any case, it was completed in 1844.
Some surmise that Christopher Arthur, architect of the Highland County Courthouse, was also the architect of the Mansion, also assisting with its construction. The Scotts’ son Samuel was born and educated in Hillsboro, attending Miami University before practicing law in the western US territories. He returned to Hillsboro in in the late 1870s to assume his father’s law and financial businesses and ownership of the Scott House.
Samuel Parsons Scott died in 1929, leaving most of his estate to Jefferson Medical College, proceeds from which were used to build a library in his name in Philadelphia. His estranged wife Elizabeth died in 1946, and having no children, the Mansion was left to the Hillsboro Schools. The School rented the first floor of the building to the Hillsboro Library, who maintained it as such until 1970, thus my recollection of the Scott House as a library. That year, the Highland County Library Association built a new Library, where it stands today on Willetsville Pike and West Main Street, as the Highland County Library.
The Hillsboro community embarked upon the aforementioned restoration of the building in the early 1990s. Still visible in the Scott House are plaques, recognizing some of the major donors to that effort Vernon B. Fairley, Jim and Susan Gibbs, Fifth/Third Bank, Liberty Savings, Weastec, David and Kay Ayres and Merchants National Bank. So many others donated to the project and/or spent their time organizing and carrying out the renovation. We should all be grateful for those who headed up that effort to restore the structure.
While the school retained its administration offices in the building for another 15 years or so, the building was vacated by the school as their offices moved, which eventually led to the acquisition of the Scott House by the Historical Society.
While the Historical Society is determined to find that ultimate use for the Scott House, it is not in a position to forever absorb the expenses that are being incurred. The Trustees do not want to see the Scott House become a detriment to other projects and goals of the Society; rather, the Society is striving to see the structure produce enough income to offset the expenses incurred by the operation of the building. The Committee also sees opportunities for uses of the grounds for community events like the Chamber’s annual picnic.
The Society has appointed a Scott House Committee to manage the building and study options for its ultimate use. That committee has reviewed previous studies, proposals and ideas for the Scott House and is currently in the process of preparing a report for the Board of Trustees concerning the pros and cons of various options for its operation.
“One opportunity the $110,000 state appropriation offers the Society is the ability to rent the spaces in the Building to community-minded offices/businesses to generate enough income to cover operational expenses,” stated Jim Rooney, Society Chair.
The State Project will allow the Society to make improvements separately from the operational side of the equation, making the rentals more affordable. The Chamber of Commerce and The Ohio Valley RC&D Council are currently renting two of the four spaces.
“If the Board can identify tenants for the available spaces together with the State funds, we think we can make it work,” Rooney said.