The Charles William Horr House, Wellington, OH

The Charles W. Horr House, Wellington, OH. 1872 Photo: scottamus

This substantial Italianate was constructed in 1872 by W. C. Horr, one of Wellington OH's important transformative 19th century businessmen. Horr was responsible for introducing industrial cheese production in Wellington and the prosperity he brought caused a boom of construction in the town. This home once sat on a massive 30 acre plot, although today it is surrounded by newer homes. The house is a symmetrical plan Italianate, with a projecting central bay, sided with wood. The central body has flushboards that simulate stucco while the wings and ells have clapboard siding. The windows of the first floor are round arched, while those on the second are segmentally arched. The hood moldings are particularly interesting and have some parallels in other Midwestern homes. The center of each molding follows the curve of the window but at the ends straightens to a horizontal line and then has a vertical element. They appear to be cast iron. The whole shape suggests Spanish architecture to me. The porch is a simple affair with some gingerbread soffits and the cornice is paneled and filleted. The cupola of this house is interesting. Lower than many of them, it has the dimensions of a monitor and is rectangular rather than square. The central section of each side has a pointed window that causes the cornice to project up. Unlike other cupolas which tend to have exaggerated brackets, this one has diminutive examples. Finally something seems to be up with the side wing. A porch stretches across part of it, but the porch cornice seems to continue across the facade. This might suggest that the wing was built after the porch and it was susequently filled in.