537 N. Bever St., Wooster, Ohio
The large brick house at 537 N. Bever St. was built by property owner Benedict Tiefenthaler sometime between 1869-1872. This time frame is derived from the fact that he bought the land in 1868 and likely would have been working all day at the College of Wooster during the year of 1868 as Benedict Tiefenthaler was a brick and stone mason by trade and he along with his brothers, James and Joseph Tiefenthaler, were given a contract in 1868 to help lay some of the 5,000 bricks on the central shaft of The College of Wooster's first structure built, Old Main. In addition, the house appears on the 1873 Caldwell's Atlas of Wayne County, Ohio, so the house most likely had to have been built sometime between 1869 and 1872 and it stands to this day as a testament to the bricklaying skills of the Tiefenthaler family. It was reported that Benedict Tiefenthaler constructed many other houses in Wooster as a contractor.
Benedict Tiefenthaler was born in Geisinger, Austria (Germany) and emigrated to the United States. He married Catherine Ingert and they had two children: a son, Dr. Benjamin S. Tiefenthaler, and a daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Harrop.
For a number of years the Tiefenthaler's operated a rooming house for College of Wooster students in the house at 537 N. Bever St. and for years afterwards College alumni would stop by the house to see the old place they lived in while going to school at the College.
The two-story brick house has an Italianate style of architecture. A wide overhanging cornice with ornate paired brackets lines the top of the home. A small side entrance porch with brackets and slender columns is located on the front southwest corner of the house.-- Information provided by: Historic Founders' Row Association
Benedict Tiefenthaler died in the house a few minutes after 7AM on May 6, 1904.
Newspaper articles
Newspaper full-text articles
Newspaper citations with no attached images
- May 11, 1904: "Benjamin Tiefenthaler." by Unknown, Wayne County Democrat, p. 6.
- June 29, 1925: "Mrs. Tiefenthaler Dies At Home of Daughter" by Unknown, The Daily Record, p. 4.
Wayne County Recorder Property Transfers
- 1816: William Henry, Joseph H. Larwill, Abigail Larwill To John Bever Vol. 1 p.100 $1
- 1837: Last will and testament of John Bever deceased gave to daughter Mirtilla (Bever) Bowman married to James L. Bowman land containing 68 acres.
- 1857:
- Mirtilla Bowman To Jacob B. McKennan Trust Deed Vol. 50 p.242-244
- J.B. McKennan's Addition to the Town of Wooster: Plat of 30 outlots numbered 149-178 dated November 7, 1857.
- 1863: J.B. McKennan Jr. To Constant Lake Vol. 58 p.140 Old Lot No. 164 $386.85
- 1868: Constant Lake sub-divided Old Lot No. 164 into 8 parcels.
- 1868: Constant Lake To Benedict Tiefenthaler Vol. 72 p.584 Lot No. (after sub-division) Lot No. 1004 $734
- 1896: Benjamin S. Tiefenthaler to Catherine Tiefenthaler Vol. 130 p.510 Lot No. 1004 $4,286.25
- 1925: Catherine Tiefenthaler, deceased To Elizabeth C. Harrop Vol. 202 p.192 Lot No. 1004 Probate Court Certificate
- 1940: Elizabeth C. Harrop, deceased To Katherine M. Harrop, etal Vol. 243 p.135 Lot No. 1004 Affidavit for Transfer
- 1945: Katherine M. Harrop To John S. Levers, Ralph E. Landes Vol. 259 p.219 Lot No. 1004 $5,000 according to $5.50 revenue stamp on deed
- Ralph E. Landes, John S. Lever To Gail C. Snyder, Eola H. Snyder Vol. 260 p. 336 Lot No. 1004 $6,500 according to $7.15 revenue stamp on deed
- 1994: Donald L. Miller To Diane S. Miller $0 Quit-Claim
- 2003: Diane S. Miller To Richard Moldovan $80,000
- 2006: Richard Moldavan to Valetine Ansley $97,000
See Also
- To figure out how much people paid for a property read about Revenue Stamps and Property Conveyance Fee History