{knowing that we were interested in local history and homes, someone at the warehouse lent us this book tonight. 313 E. Sandusky was the Elijah P. Jones House and was built with money from the Oregon gold rush. in 1925 the property was renamed The Lynn Mawr Inn and was a boarding house that offered meals in addition to lodging. the owner of this property recently died and it is now owned by someone in the historic preservation guild. the book is entitled Porches and Parlors: Findlay's Unique Homes, by Rosalinda Paul, Pat Bauman and Renee Smith and was published in 2009 by Allegra Printing, Findlay, Ohio}
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Elijah Pelton Jones, President of the First National Bank, purchased the land in 1854 and built the home between 1867-1868. A larger front porch and covered carriage port were added about 15 years later. The third floor (rear) included a large ballroom.
Louise Wilcke Webb bought the home in 1921 and converted the top two floors into boarding rooms (including the ballroom). She named the house Lynn Mawr Inn. The words "Lynn Mawr" can still be seen etched in the glass above the front door. The reason for the name was simply Louise liked the sound of it.
Louise married Robert Parks and her daughter Caroline Parks Roberts owned it until her death in October 2010.
The house once had an unusual garage to the rear built in the design of a railroad depot. The garage was recently taken down and donated to the Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation Society.
The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The house has suffered from extreme neglect since the 1960s. Although the current owner, along with help from friends, students and relatives, has invested hundreds of hours into clean-up the interior of the house is still in poor condition.
Actually the home is in remarkable un molested original condition! Although the Parks and Roberts families spent little money on maintenance it still stands as a test against the ravages of poor remodeling and destruction by individuals who may not respect its heritage and significance to the community. It is now under the tutlege of myself and our LLC we formed to restore it. Look for events in June 2012 and fall 2012 as the Lynn Mawr Inn is a works-in-progress!
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