OLD RED
The Moss home from 1859 through 1899 was an old red brick house in Mineral Ridge, Trumbull County, Ohio. This was a fast growing community at the time the Moss family came to Ohio. People had known that there was coal there. Farmers would dig their own. Not until the canal linked up the larger towns was it thought to be feasible for anyone to think of making a profit trying to mine here. The development of the railroads made it even more profitable.
The demand was for manpower, to sink shafts, forge tools, and dig coal. Somehow our family heard of this and settled in Mineral Ridge. The house they would live in was part of the Burnett farm. Most of the farms were sold to speculators, who would divide them into smaller plots, keeping the ground necessary for the mining, access roads, and railroads. The remaining land was sold, except for the mineral rights.
Our family bought an acre plot of ground which is very plain. One can tell there was an orchard on the west side because of the depressions in the ground where the roots have rotted. The east and lower side seems to have been garden. When you see the snow lie on the ground, you can see the depressions where the out buildings and sheds must have stood.
The old red brick house is too close to the street by today's standards. It was built on a slight hill much like a bank barn. The lower level is sandstone and sits into the slope of the land. There is a porch going across the front of the house. The porch was rebuilt several times. It had been enclosed underneath with cinderblock. This made a nice entrance and storage space at the lower level, but detracted from the appearance of the house.
The house is three levels high. The lowest level consists of two rooms and has an entrance under the porch. The first room is the kitchen. To the left of the kitchen is a smaller room which was probably for storage. The kitchen has a fireplace with a crane and bake oven still intact, which have been repaired. Originally, there was an oak floor laid down on the clay floor. Just inside the door is a pump still connected to the cistern, which had been filled up with debris, but is now restored. In the corner are the original steps which curve up sharply to the main level.
The main or second level has a porch across the front of the house. The door from this porch is directly above the door to the kitchen. This door leads into a room with another large fireplace. It has a wooden mantel and cupboards built above. When you place a flashlight at the edge of the wood, the hand plane marks are visible. The wood work is all original, except that only two feet of chair rail remains in this room. In the corner of this room is a stair going up to the next level. There is a recessed porch on the opposite wall. To the right of the door to the porch, is a small room with a window. We have made shelves in this room and call it a pantry. To the left of this main room is a another room, and it has a very small fireplace. It was built to burn coal. This is a pleasant room and faces west for the evening sun. An even smaller room behind this was probably a bedroom. A bathroom was added to this room about 1970, one of the few renovations done to the house along with the rebuilt porch.
The inset back porch which is between the two small rear rooms was enclosed. Sometime before 1925, this porch was closed in and the wall removed to the room called the pantry to make a kitchen on this second level. This space has been restored to the original plan.
The third level has a room at the top of the stairs. There is a wood partition and another room beyond. The ceilings are low and covered with boards which have all been restored.
Originally, I had estimated the house to have been built between 1815 and 1830. I have found that the hinges and latches were made of cast iron, therefore the date should be closer to 1830-1835. This house is very intriguing because it's a Pennsylvania farm style and located in the Connecticut Western Reserve. Most of the houses of this vintage are in the New England style. lt appears that this house may be the oldest in Mineral Ridge and maybe even the oldest in Weathersfield Township.
The Moss family lived in this house until 1899 when Jacob died. His entire estate was auctioned off. The house was purchased by M.J. Stouffer. This family owned and lived there until the 1980's. The Stouffer girls who were probably born there moved to a nursing home in Atlanta, to be near family. It was the Stouffer girls that gave the house its affectionate name of "Old Red."
For those of you who don't know, I can go on and tell you the rest of my story. This house fell into uncaring hands after the Stouffer family. I came to town one day in 1990 to find out it had been condemned and was to be torn down. No one wanted it, not even the historical society because it would cost too much to repair and was too small to house many exhibits. Well, that just couldn't happen. I did find the owner, and I purchased it. I filled out the appropriate papers and convinced everyone who needed convincing that the house would be repaired and restored to its original condition.
Many years have passed and much work and money have gone into the house. Many people have come to see the house. Family, friends, neighbors and "This Old House" type people stop by regularly to see its progress, sometimes to give a little help, and sometimes to give counsel. The plumbing is done, the electricity is done, and the brick has been repointed and repaired. The roof in the rear was finished in 1992, and the set-in back porch was completed at that time. A new wall was put up between the porch and pantry. New windows were made by an Amish window maker, to restore them to what was in place originally. Holes have been drilled through the brick and timbers, front to back and side to side, and then large plates and bolts put over the outside to draw the sagging and swaying brick walls into a more secure position. They will never be able to attain the original square. From the silk stockings, rags, and old newspapers that were used for insulation and have been pulled from cracks and crevices, it is known for certain that many bulges in the walls were there before 1900.
A new wood shingle roof was put on the main house. The chimneys have been restored. Much of the inside has been completed. The porch has been redone with all wood supports and railings, and matches those typically seen on this type of house. The latest project was to cover the basement kitchen floor with hand made brick tiles last year. Many projects remain including plastering the rooms on the main floor. However, if the restoration were completed, we would loose some of the architectural detail now visible.
A wonderful couple, the Klingenmeiers, have been expert advisors since they have restored several houses in the area and are very active in the local historical societies. They have given of their time and have been very supportive when trying new projects. We owe them a big thank you. Cris Klingenmeier now teaches restoration in the architecture department at Youngstown State. He uses the house in teaching his course.
Old Red is listed in the Ohio Historic Inventory. Its number is TRU-3330-Twp23. It was inventoried by Gregory A. Griffith of the Trumbull County Planning Commission. The inventory listing does not have a date on it; however, it appears to have been done about 1985. He gives the following information. " An old brick cottage with stone lintels and sills. Windows are 1/1. Around eave are bricks in sawtooth and dentil pattern. Saltbox profIle. Brick is deteriorating. Shed roof front porch is supported by aluminum posts atop a concrete block foundation. Interior end chimney is on the west side. The brick construction and sawtooth layering of brick at the eaves are reminiscent of similar brick homes in Braceville and Framington Townships. House is in a community honeycombed with old coal mines. An air shaft is in front of the house. [The air shaft is the cistern.] The house is on a narrow residential street surrounded by older houses, and located in the old mining community of Mineral Ridge. Land is somewhat undulating." Mr. Griffith further states that it is not on the National Register, however it is eligible. He dates the house between 1820 and 1830, and the style as vernacular. Unfortunately, Mr. Griffith never got to see inside the house. But everything was bricked and paneled over so he would not have really seen it anyway.
In a book titled, HOW AMERICAN STYLES DEVELOPED, there is a house that matches Old Red. It is pictured and described on page 51. The description of both the exterior and interior features such as rooms, stairways, and fireplaces are detailed and much the same as Old Red. Dated 1780, it is described as a Pennsylvania farm tenant house or a "bank" house. I would say that the builder of Old Red came from Pennsylvania and copied this style of house.
Like good wine,
Old Red is improving with age.
This text was originally written and published in 1992 by Mary Lou Godleski in her book entitled "The Maas-Moss Family” pages 9-11. It was edited and updated May, 2006.