The H.E. Fledderjohann Property is a complex of five historic buildings in the village of New Knoxville,

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 ...

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. Three of these structures — a house, a

doctor's office A doctor's office in American English, a doctor's surgery in British English, or a doctor's practice, is a medical facility in which one or more medical doctors, usually general practitioners (GP), receive and treat patients. Description Doct ...

, and a standalone

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

building — were owned and used by Fledderjohann, a prominent New Knoxville

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Fledderjohann's life

Dr. Fledderjohann was the son of Herman Fledderjohann, a native of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

who immigrated to present-day Auglaize County in 1835. Soon after arriving, the elder Fledderjohann began laboring in the construction of the

Miami and Erie Canal The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that ran from Cincinnati to Toledo, Ohio, creating a water route between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845 at a cost to the state government of $ ...

, and his diligence quickly led to him becoming a

foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: *Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew * Jury foreman, a head j ...

and a leading man in the community. He was twice married and fathered eighteen children; among the sons borne by his second wife were Henry and B.A. Fledderjohann, who served in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

. Henry Fledderjohann graduated from the medical school of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1886. Upon entering the medical profession, Fledderjohann was well regarded by other physicians; he was a member of the Northwestern Ohio Medical Association, and in 1906, he was elected to the vice presidency of the

Auglaize County Auglaize County () is a county in Northwestern Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,442. Its county seat is Wapakoneta. Auglaize County comprises the Wapakoneta Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also includ ...

Medical Society. For a time, he was also a public official, acting as the health officer for the New Knoxville Board of Health in 1902. Besides serving the community as a

family doctor Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary ...

, Fledderjohann was also an

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; he was granted a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for a type of

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

in 1913.

Buildings

Fledderjohann's house was built in 1879 by Gustave Zuelch, Fledderjohann's predecessor as community doctor; he served the village from 1878 to 1888. Located adjacent to the house is the doctors office.The Heritage Center Complex
New Knoxville Historical Society, n.d. Accessed 2010-06-01. Built in 1890, the office is a one-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

brick building with small rounded windows that open into the

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

. The kitchen is a one-story

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

structure located immediately behind the house.The Summer Kitchen
New Knoxville Historical Society, n.d. Accessed 2010-06-01. These three buildings were listed together 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 ...

in 1993, primarily because of their connection to Fledderjohann. Today, Fledderjohann's property is operated as a museum by the New Knoxville Historical Society, with his residence as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

. Besides the three landmarked buildings, the museum complex includes a barn, a barber shop and a small

log house A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term " log cabin" generally refers to a sm ...

References

External links

New Knoxville Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fledderjohann, H. E., House, Doctor's Office and Summer Kitchen Houses in Auglaize County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Auglaize County, Ohio Historic house museums in Ohio Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Italianate architecture in Ohio Kitchen Queen Anne architecture in Ohio Museums in Auglaize County, Ohio