351 Beall Ave., Wooster, Ohio
The house once located at 351 Beall Ave., southeast corner of Beall and Nold Ave., was built around 1870 by Matthew W. Pinkerton and was torn down in 1995 to make way for the Autozone retail business. The house was added to the County Landmark Registry by the Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio as the Pinkerton-Rich House and awarded the status of a "Pioneer House" in 1983 and was marked with a plaque until it was torn down in 1995.
Timeline
- 1870: Built
- 1877: Bought by John and Jacob Durstine for $4,755
- 1893: Purchased by the Barnhardts
- 1920: Sold to the Alcock brothers
- 1937: Sold to Samuel Esselburn for $6,667
- 1940: Purchased by the Riches for $500 down and $50/month
Historical Items of Interest
- There used to be a spring-fed watering spot at the corner of N. Bever and Spring streets. For many years there was simply wood trough on the northeast corner for watering horses and area residents would fill buckets of water for home use from the spring fountain of water. Later it was replaced by a much bigger cast iron bowl about 10-12 feet in diameter and taller than a small child, that was described as looking like a king-sized water lilly, put on the southeast corner. It was sized so large to make it easy for horses to drink from it and down near the bottom of the pedestal for the big round trough was placed a small cup so dogs could drink while the horses got their fill of water above. Eventually this spring-fed source of water was shutdown by the city for contamination concerns and the giant cast-iron bowl was moved to the property at 351 Beall Ave. where Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rich used it as a flower planter. The Rich's stated that the huge old water bowl was already in the ground when they had moved-in to the house in the 1940s. Nobody seems to know what happened to the big old cast-iron watering bowl when the house at 351 Beall Ave. was demolished.[1]
- Elizabeth "Libby" (Graber) Rich's family used to own the restaurant that was at the south side of the public square in Wooster in the late 1930s, where Wooster Floral used to be, called Aunt Molly's, ran by the Graber family and Libby waited tables there for a number of years. You could get a full-sized meal for 35-cents.[2]
Residents
The following is a list of residents residing at 351 Beall Ave.
1870s
Matthew W. Pinkerton and family (including 6 of 8 children)
1878
Jacob Durstine, wife and two daughters
1896
James (Walter?) and Amy (Scovel) Mullins
1910
W. Ralph Barnhart, wife, daughters Emily and Elsie
1920
Brothers Ben Alcock and George Alcock
1937
New property owner Samuel Esselburn rented to: Ben and George Alcock Wayne County Health Department
1940s
Paul and Elizabeth "Libby" Rich Wayne County Health Department
1950-1995
Paul and Elizabeth Rich
Newspaper articles
- February 20, 1878: "Local News", Wayne County Democrat, p. 3.
- February 12, 1896: "Here and There", Wooster Weekly Republican, p. 3.
- January 10, 1983: "This Old House Tells Story" by Cliff Bushnell, The Daily Record, p. 37.