This house, despite its small size, features both a "crosswall" and a medial post. If the square notching and narrow logs are any indication, it was likely sided soon after construction, and may date from the mid- or late 19th century. Perhaps, the township had become denuded of large timber by this time, forcing the home's builder to employ the odd medial post-crosswall combination. The medial post appears almost exclusively in areas of German settlement; it is unsurprising, then, that most of Salt Creek Township's early residents were Pennsylvanians of German descent.
The building, owned by J. Markel or J. Butterbach in 1871, sits within the cluster of houses comprising the defunct settlement of Stringtown.
("Stringtown," incidentally, is a name shared by many Ohio communities. All Stringtowns are diminutive; the moniker, I suspect, describes the settlements' appearance — houses "strung out" along a road.)
Salt Creek Township lies at the western edge of the Allegheny Plateau. The region, being both hilly and agriculturally wealthy, is quite scenic.
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| The intersection of South Perry Road and Tarlton-Adelphi Road, looking east. The township's namesake stream, Salt Creek, occupies this valley. Pumpkin Ridge rises in the background. |
