Abandoned house in Ohio
Zenas Kent House, Aurora Ohio
Zenas Kent was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 1786 and first came to Ohio with his father, a carpenter and joiner who had purchased land from the Connecticut Land Company, in 1808. They returned to Connecticut after selecting a spot on which to build and erecting a cabin, which was down the hill from the present home. That winter the father died and the following year Zenas Kent, his mother, brothers, sisters and his own wife, Pamela, returned to Ohio to live.
Zenas Kent, like his Father; was a carpenter and joiner, and, during the winter months, a teacher. He was industrious and, by 1815, had formed a partnership with a tanner and built and operated a general store. He soon became sole owner. He continued with his building and, in 1826, was hired to erect the Ravenna courthouse. He became senior partner in the building firm of Kent & Brewster in 1831, and in 1832 bought over 600 acres, known later as the village of Kent. Throughout his early years he operated a tanning factory, a flour mill (which delivered the first shipment of flour to Cleveland on the Ohio-Erie Canal system), and various stores. In 1849, at 43, he was elected president of the Franklin Bank, which later became the Kent National Bank in 1864, and served this office until his death in 1865. He was much respected in the community.
The Zenas Kent House is a true transplant of a Connecticut colonial farmhouse and is one of only two of its kind in Portage County, both built by people who had a major impact in and on the county during the first half of the 19th century. In a sense it represents the grandparent of Greek Revival, and the great-grandparent of the post Civil War Victorian styles. The Kent house was a building and life style in the grand manner far removed from the less refined homes of the period in Aurora.
In spite of alterations, the amount of original material remaining in place is of enormous importance, especially the interior paneling, which was soon to give way to the more prestigious plaster. The Kent House was a laboratory of construction technology for succeeding craftsmen, for it was from the few grand early buildings, such as this house, and the style books which came out later from the East, on which later constructions were based.
EDIT: There was both a Zeno Kent and a Zenas Kent living at the same time in the area. The subject house was built by Zenas, not Zeno as originally reported. Thank you to Jon Ridinger for the correction. The following is the information provided by Jon Ridinger:
Building Description
The house sits back from Aurora-Hudson Road about 80'. The land slopes to a creek bed to the southeast. The building sits up from the surrounding grade about 2', resting on a dressed sandstone foundation. Sandstone provides steps to all 4 entrance doors. The house itself is a 5-bay, 2-story frame building with an attached l-story frame section to the rear.
The windows are wood, double hung, 6 over 6 in the 2-story part. Windows in the l-story section are largely replacements. All windows in the main section of the house originally had shutters, but today only 4 pairs remain. The front door piece is a handsome composition with an entablature supported by Doric pilasters. The door is decorated with an unusual hand-carved sunburst. On either side of the door are 3-light sidelights with bottom wood panel. On the north (side) elevation is a four-panel door surrounded by a very old molding and delicate cornice. The doors from a recessed porch, probably later, are four panels with a low lock rail.
The roof of the 2-story section has a very low pitch punctured by 2 brick chimneys. The roofing is slate, terminated at the eave with wide cornices which return slightly at the gable end. The wide fascia is well-molded, and the upper windows fit neatly against the fascia. At the southeast corner of the 2-story section, the grade is lowered so that a basement entrance is possible.
Interior: The floor plan of the 2-story section consists of identical front parlors and a center hall. The center hall originally was a center chimney with three first-floor fireplaces and front stair. This was removed during a mid-19th-century alteration. At the rear of the parlors was a large Keeping room flanked by a Borning room to the south and pantry or dairy to the north. The l-story section has a large kitchen with a cooking fireplace. To the rear are three storage or work rooms. The cellar is under the 2-story section only, with stone walls mostly not dressed. The north portion is divided by a brick wall and exterior walls veneered with brick. The brick is what remains of the central chimney. The building is actually quite spacious. The second floor duplicates the first-floor plan. The communicating stair leads from keeping room to both the second floor and cellar.
Rooms are spacious and well-trimmed. As one proceeds to the rear of the house, the finish becomes less sophisticated. Rooms are finished with plaster ceilings and with wood-paneled walls. The kitchen fireplace is built of hand-made local red brick with a huge stone hearth. Built into the assembly is an oven with stone floor and wrought iron lintel. The fireplace is trimmed with an unmolded side panel and the oven is covered with a paneled door, all surrounded with an elegant shelf with exaggerated delicate moldings. The doors in the front of the house are six panel; in the rear several styles of four panels exist. The funeral door is much wider than the other doors. Hardware, in general, is rimlocks with china knobs. Minor doors have Suffolk thumb latches. Thumb latches were probably used throughout the interior.
Front elevation (1973)
North elevation (1973)
South elevation (1973)
