Asahel Wright House
26 N. Main St.
 

Date: Family records tell us that Aaron Nutt platted this block in 1805 or 1806 and that the house was built at that time. 

 
Features: The trapezoidal shaped lintels over the door and the two first floor windows on the façade sets this building apart from other early stone houses.  The placement of the fireplace in the northeast corner of the house is also unique in our area.  The chimney crosses over to the center of the wall upstairs.  And the front door placed to the left makes this a Three-Quarters house, most in the area having centered front doors.  About 1860, the two-story frame section of the stone house was built. 

 
Owners: A plat map recorded in 1817 lists C. Williams as the owner of the south half of Lot 3.  The sale was probably an informal sale as he is not listed as ever holding a deed for that property.  The house is designated as the Asahel Wright house as the first official deed holder, but the building was probably ten years old when Asahel Wright purchased it.  Asahel Wright, a great-uncle of Wilbur and Orville Wright, purchased the property on August 16, 1816.  In 1978, the City of Centerville acquired the buildings and rented them for a dollar a year to the International Women's Air and Space Museum after the building was restored and renovated.  After the museum moved to the Cleveland airport, the building opened in October 1999 as offices and a museum run by the Historical Society.

 
Other: The small frame building by the sidewalk was added around 1830 when Leonard Ream, a skilled hat maker, owned the property.  The Historical Society operated a gift shop and visitor information center there from 1999 to 2011.