Westcott House in Springfield is the oldest and probably the best known house in Ohio designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

Westcott House in Springfield, Ohio, is the oldest and probably the best known house in Ohio designed by iconic architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was designed in 1906 and built in 1908 for industrialist Burton Westcott and his family.

This house is a true gem inside and out, and the Westcott House Foundation has done a spectacular job restoring the house and keeping it looking as if its occupants just left for a swanky 1920s spring soiree.

Burton Westcott was treasurer of the American Seeding Machine Company and president of the Westcott Motor Car Company. He was the son of John Westcott, who founded the Westcott Carriage Company in 1896 and the Westcott Motor Car Company in 1915. Burton Westcott sold the car company in 1925 and died in 1926.

The expansive Prairie-style house is the earliest Wright-designed house built in Ohio. It was converted into apartments in the early 1940s and had several subsequent owners. It was sold in 2000 in deteriorating condition to a community non-profit organization. Restoration took place from 2001 to 2005 by the newly formed Westcott House Foundation, which continues to manage the property.

Flowers bloom in the gardens outside the Westcott House. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

Wright’s Prairie style features prominent horizontal lines, low-pitched roofs with overhanging eaves, panels of windows that face the street, simple building materials of wood, stucco and brick, and sparse ornamentation. The house also reflects the influence of Japanese architecture on Wright’s designs; he made his first visit to Japan in 1905.

The Westcott House, 85 S. Greenmount Ave., Springfield, is open to the public for guided tours, workshops and programs; memberships and volunteer opportunities are available (937) 327-9291.

View a video about the Westcott House by WOSU-TV, above.

Two other Wright-designed houses in Ohio are also open to the public. A number of other Wright houses in Ohio are private residences.

• Louis Penfield House (1955), Usonian Style house, 2215 River Road, Willoughby Hills, Ohio; available for overnight stays by reservation.
• Weltzheimer/Johnson House (1949), Usonian Style house, 534 Morgan St., Oberlin, Ohio; house is part of the Allen Memorial Art Museum of Oberlin College, and hosts public tours.

Read more: Sauder Village is an amazing place in the Ohio countryside – Aug. 8, 2023

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

Subscribe to Dusty Tires and receive a weekly email with the latest blog article. It’s free!

All rights reserved, Dusty Tires (dusty-tires.com), 2025.