Harris Dental Museum

Bainbridge, Ross County, Ohio

A circa 1815 residence; between 1825 and 1830, the building housed the country's first dental school, operated by John Harris. Platted by the redoubtable Nathaniel Massie in 1805, Bainbridge retains a number of early structures.

Currently, this house functions as a museum operated by the Bainbridge Historical Society. It's a fascinating slice of American history, well worth a visit for individuals traveling US Highway 50.

The interior.

My favorite element of early 19th century vernacular architecture is perhaps the enclosed corner staircase; once commonplace, such staircases are, for obvious reasons, becoming quite scarce "in the wild."

In The Architecture of Migration, Donald Hutslar discusses a similar Clear Creek Township, Warren County door: "The doors in this house were made of boards interlocked by tapered and dovetailed battens. This joinery technique was used for table tops in the 18th century and before. Similar doors exist in a log house near Austintown in Mahoning County."

Overland Inn

McCutchenville, Tymochtee Township, Wyandot County, Ohio

Joseph McCutchen, the community's namesake, constructed this building in 1829 as "a stagecoach stop on the Overland Trail," which ran between Columbus and Lake Erie. The Wyandot County Historical Society purchased the home, then neglected, in 1964; renovation occurred twice, by 1967 and between 2004 and 2007.

The braced frame portion certainly postdates 1829.