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The house has changed over the years. Here is an early photo Circa 1847 Mark Ford Homestead, Mesopotamia, Ohio
1847 Mark Ford Homestead clearly the same 1989 front porch addition and 1997 rear addition as pictured in the Old Stone House Bed and Breakfast Home Page.)
Chris Klingemier, Hartford, Ohio:
"The stone house sited atop a rise south of Mesopotamia center is a 1-1/2 storey, two room deep center hall house, a common type found in both Pennsylvania and New York. What is uncommon is the quality of the stone and stonework. The facade of the building used stones carefully selected from one strata of the quarry, all exhibiting purple & blue mineral bands. The doorways are exceptional, with dressed stone used for the elements normally rendered in wood. The layout and scale of the interior, as well as the selection of strap and pintle hinges for doors, suggest a Germanic influence. Stone houses were rare in the Western Reserve and few survive, making this one of the most important early structures in the region."History
Circa 1815 Greek Revival
"Hezekiah Holcombe lived near the crossing of Salmonbrook, Simsbury, Hartford County, Connecticut, October 13, 1751. Served on the school committee, East Grandby (Turkey Hills), Connecticut, December 1765, December 2, 1766, November 2, 1767 and November 5, 1787. Deputy from Simsbury in 1773, 1783, 1785 and 1787-89. Captain of the 18th Connecticut Regiment, organized there as Capt. Lemuel Bates Co. Commanded the 11th Connecticut Regiment for duty in New York arriving there August 26, 1776, where he was discharged September 25, 1776. Taxpayer there 12/2/1785. On committee 2/23/1786 proposing an election for separation Turkey Hills from Simsbury." (Holcomb geneology)
Hezekiah’s wealth and status are detailed in the house’s design during this period, which precipitated an American movement westward.
The house offers historic details such as deep window wells 19" thick, corner cupboard, a pie safe made with square nails, chestnut wood beams and plank flooring with post and beam construction.
19 Remaining Stone Houses in the Western Reserve
..."National Heritage Areas are places where natural, cultural, historical and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape arising from human activity shaped by geography. These patterns make National Heritage Areas representative of the national experience through the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved in them. These regions are acknowledged by Congress for their capacity to tell nationally important stories about our nation."
"The Western Reserve’s early stone houses may aid in writing a nationally important story about our distinctive regional landscape. Never before considered as a holistic legacy, early stone houses total more than 100 in number and lie in almost all areas of the region. Moreover, as they are stone-built, stone houses have survived in greater proportion than their framed counterparts. They uniquely represent the formative period. Each early stone house therefore plays a local role in defining the current Reserve landscape, and the totality can make for a regional narrative that integrates nature and culture. Such a comprehensive yet elemental approach is bound to be of extra-regional significance."
Western Reserve (Connecticut Land Company)
"The Connecticut Land Company consisted of a group of investors who bought a large part of the Western Reserve of Connecticut in the years after the American Revolution. Connecticut was one of several states that had land claims in the Ohio Country going back to the colonial period. Connecticut gave up most of its claims to the federal government so that the Northwest Territory could be created. However, it reserved the northeast corner of the territory for itself. This area came to be known as the Connecticut Western Reserve."History of Ownership
1758 Hezekiah Holcombe - Purchased 1200 Acres Parcels 21, 33 & 40
1815 Seth Tracy sold Captain Jesse Holcomb (Hezekiah's son) 25 1/4 acres originally part of the 1200 acres for $45.00 as follows from deed records:
09/11/1815 Released
10/20/1815 Recorded
1840 George Arnold
1874 J & F Ford
1899 George A Ford
1923 W F Webb
1985 Sam & Darcy Miller
2001 Darcy Miller