The Eliphalet Austin House is a historic residence in the community of Austinburg,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Constructed by the community's namesake founder, it has been greatly modified by later owners, and it has been named a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. The

Connecticut Land Company The Connecticut Company or Connecticut Land Company (e.-1795) was a post-colonial land speculation company formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the eastern parts of the newly chartered Connecticut Western Re ...

was formed in the late eighteenth century to settle and develop the section of western Connecticut that later became the

Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms of ...

region of Ohio. Eliphalet Austin joined the company and purchased wide tracts of land throughout the region, including present-day Austinburg Township, which bears his name. He settled at present-day Austinburg in 1799 and, according to local tradition, arranged for the construction of the present house in 1811. As northeastern Ohio developed, he became regionally prominent: his land holdings were located in multiple counties, he was responsible for carrying the mails, he operated a cattle-dealing operation, and he was a

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from 1829 to 1831. Austin's descendants inherited his property after his death.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ce ...

: Somerset, 1999, 26. Austin's house is a brick structure in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style. Its appearance is radically different from that of its earliest years; it appears that the present appearance was the result of an extensive remodelling project conducted under the auspices of Austin's grandson Louis B. Austin during the 1860s. Precise documentation of the remodelling is not extant, but numerous details are typical of the 1860s, and no extant building anywhere in the United States is known to have employed the Italianate style before 1844.Sheridan, Ellen M., and Marlene H. Lentz. '.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, 1987-12-15, 3. In 1975, Austin's house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, qualifying for inclusion both because of its historically significant architecture and because of its place as the home of a regionally significant man. It is one of three National Register-listed properties in Austinburg Township, along with the nearby Congregational Church of Austinburg and the L.W. Peck House in the community of Eagleville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Eliphalet, House Houses completed in 1815 Houses in Ashtabula County, Ohio Italianate architecture in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Ashtabula County, Ohio