Simon Rice House, Wooster, Ohio

Simon Rice House
General information
Address	Williams Rd. on campus of OARDC
Town or city	Wooster, Ohio
Country	United States
Completed	c.1820s

The Simon Rice House, is located on Williams Rd. on the campus of the OARDC. It was built from bricks baked in a kiln on the farm by Frederick Rice Sr. It was recognized as a County Historical Landmark in 1976 by the Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio.

Frederick Rice Sr. moved to Wooster, Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1812, looking for good farm land and a location for a home. He first considered land where the College of Wooster now stands but decided against it because the water springs in that area would often dry-up during the mid-summer and mid-winter. He decided to purchase two sections of land in the Madison Hill area where ample water supplies were present. He built two homes on the land for his sons, Barnhart and Simon. Construction of these homes covered the period between 1820-1825.

For the Simon Rice home, Frederick Rice Sr. quarried the clay for the bricks from the surrounding land and baked them in a kiln on the site. He built the house slowly when he had time that could be spared from farming. Sturdy wood beams in the basement and attics are hand-hewn from timber once located on the farmland.

The house is now utilized as the OSU Wooster Campus Police station.

Features

Constructed of bricks baked in a kiln on the farm near the construction site of the house.