Scheer Log House

Salem Township, Warren County, Ohio

Southeast elevation.

Double pen log houses are exceptionally rare in Ohio. Though this configuration — two log pens placed perpendicularly, forming an "L" — appears frequently in Kentucky, only a handful of similar buildings stand in Ohio. It seems that Ohioans preferred constructing additions of frame, not log.

The northernmost (front) pen, likely older, measures 23' by 20', while the rear pen is 15' by 18'. A five-foot "breezeway" separates the pens. The front portion's logs average 12" in height and 6" in depth, while the logs comprising the rear section are slightly smaller, about 10" in height.

I know little about the building's history; a defunct Warren County Historical Society webpage provided a construction date of 1803, certainly feasible given the region's early settlement. The 1882 History of Warren County, Ohio mentions one possible origin:

The original Miranda farm embraced 200 acres, including the village of Morrow, a part of East Morrow, the Miranda burying ground (now a part of the cemetery), and the land where the brewery now stands, which was known as 'the old Wilson farm.'

In 1854, John Scheer purchased the property and erected the adjacent stone brewery, now ruined. Scheer immigrated from Germany in 1844, first settling in Cincinnati; apparently, "he [abhorred] drunkenness" and was "a generous, wholesouled man, [who] never turned the cold shoulder in case of charity."

Front (northeast) elevation. With its tall foundation and rotted sill, the house's survival is a miracle.

A large, well-constructed exterior chimney.

Note the discontinuous foundation. The two pens were likely constructed at different times.

Relatively intact; the enclosed corner staircase turns toward the former fireplace opening.

One joist, simply a round trunk notched at both ends, remains. This joist is an exquisite candidate for dendrochronological dating.

The rear pen. Unfortunately, renovations have stripped this room of its woodwork. Note the "breezeway" steps, required because of the offset between the pens' foundations. Both vertical board doors may be original.

This door opening was enlarged; note the original jamb board, visible to the door's left.

Stones and wood slabs are by far the most common chinking materials seen in Ohio. Less frequently, gaps are sealed with long wooden strips, occasionally described as "logs between logs." Once, Donald Hutslar encountered a building chinked with pieces of furniture.

A standard method of support, with logs pegged to the jamb board. Note the haphazard tenon placement.

This plate slightly overhangs the wall.

Clarridge Log House

Pleasant Township, Madison County, Ohio

One of few log homes extant in southeastern Madison County, and possibly a relocated building. The 1862 map marks no structures at this location, then owned by William J. Creath; Creath's residence stood to the north, on the west side of modern State Route 56. By 1875, ownership had passed to David M. Clarridge (1834–1913), a corporal in the 30th Ohio Infantry. The 1875 atlas omits Creath's dwelling and indicates the depicted building; perhaps, the two are the same structure, moved between 1862 and 1875.

Southeast elevation. Note the attached brick outbuilding (summer kitchen?).

This steeple notching is somewhat crudely handled, with enormous gaps between logs. The bottom side wall log is missing entirely.

Logs sheltered by porch; facade. Evidently, these logs were exposed and painted prior to the porch's construction.

The uppermost (plate?) log appears to simply rest atop the log below, without notching.

The hewed joists may be original.

The staircase — likely a replacement — stands in the historically correct location, turning toward the fireplace. The mantel, too, is perhaps unoriginal (though I must confess, I'm no mantel expert); a later renovation sealed it with bricks.

Finally, a floor plan.