The Harrison House in Franklinton is among the oldest in Columbus still on its original foundation. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

A modest house in Franklinton is one of the oldest houses in the city of Columbus still on its original foundation. Located at 570 W. Broad Street (U.S. 40) at Gift Street, the Federal style house was reportedly built in 1807 by Joseph Oberdier.

Gen. William Henry Harrison used it as his winter headquarters in 1813-14 during the War of 1812. During the Civil War, the house was supposedly the residence of a Confederate spy who reported on activities at nearby Camp Chase. The building was saved from demolition in 1975 despite being on the National Register of Historic Places.

It is now the office of the Franklin County Historical & Genealogical Society. Located directly behind the house is the Lucas Sullivant Land Office, built in 1822 and relocated to avoid demolition.

But hold on a minute — adjacent to the Harrison House is what many believe to have the strongest case to be the oldest house in Franklin County still on its original foundation, the David Deardurff House. This house, also built in 1807, is at 72 S. Gift St.

The Deardurff House, made originally of logs, was the post office for Franklinton until 1834. Deardurff established the first effective mail route that connected Franklinton to the rest of Ohio’s settlements to the south.

Learn more about the National Road through Columbus, Ohio (video).

The Old Stone Fort in Coshocton County. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

Then there’s the oldest house in Ohio. It is reputed to be the Old Stone Fort near Coshocton, allegedly built as early as 1679 by D’iberville, a French military leader, to protect French-Canadian fur trading operations. There’s no hard evidence to support this claim, however.

Others have claimed that the small structure was actually built in the 1700s as a fur trading post. The Old Stone Fort is located at 22921 County Road 254, West Lafayette.

The Rufus Putnam Land Office, built in 1788 in Marietta. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

The oldest buildings in Ohio that can be verified historically are the Rufus Putnam House and Land Office, built in 1788 in Marietta at the residence of Gen. Rufus Putnam. These buildings are recognized as the oldest buildings in the Northwest Territory, which predates the State of Ohio.

The hewn-log Putnam residence is housed inside the Campus Martius Museum. The Land Office, a simple frame house, is outside the Campus Martius Museum; both are on the National Register of Historic Places.

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

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