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Andrew Vincent - Samuel Weller House
By Ferne Reilich, Curator
As I write today the sun is shining brightly in all our windows here at the Nutt Cottage. The spring flowers are gone but the daises are growing quickly. Yes, it is a beautiful spring day, but summer is coming soon. As the seasons change, and we look around we can see many changes in our Historic District this year, too.
The building that I have been observing recently, is just a little south of here, at the corner of East Ridgeway and North Main Street. It is noted in our Landmarks files as the Andrew Vincent – Samuel Weller house. There have been several different business enterprises there since the 1970’s but before that time it was a family home.
The deed for the property on Lot #6 of Aaron Nutt’s land was first registered in the Montgomery County Court in 1828. Those records show the owner as Daniel McNeil. In 1831, he sold the site to Andrew Vincent, who constructed the beautiful two-story limestone building we now can see. By 1837 however, it was sold again and over the years it had several owners, until the late 1880s or early 90s. Our records differ as to the exact date but as you can observe in the picture above, it looks like the Samuel Weller family is happily established there about 1891. In fact, Samuel or his descendants lived at 60 N. Main until 1963. Let me tell you a little about Samuel.
He was the son of John and Elizabeth Weller, born in 1826 in Washington Township, one of 11 children. He attended school in a log building, and worked for his father on the family farm, on what is now, Bigger Lane. In 1854, Samuel married Mary Kirby and they had 11 children also. He was respected in the community and served as a director of the schools and as a township trustee. Samuel loved the land and in the History of Montgomery County, Joseph Nutt writes, “Farming is his delight, at which he is a success.” By 1880, Samuel had purchased almost 390 acres, including the farm he was raised on. When Mary and Samuel were ready to retire, they decided to move to town. They bought the house at 60 N. Main from Dr. William Lamme, a general practitioner who had lived there and had his practice there, for several decades.
At that time, the house had large porches on both the west and south sides. We can imagine that Samuel and Mary enjoyed sitting outside and watching friends and neighbors go by. Samuel lived until 1908, and Mary until 1919. They are both buried in the Washington Township Cemetery, on Maple Avenue, just a short walk from where they enjoyed living.
Now the beautiful, two story stone house with the unusual, double front doors, is being carefully restored by a new owner. Our records show that the house has four fireplaces and it is thought that the stone came from a nearby quarry. I wonder if they will notice the mortar between the stones, with animal hair added to it for strength? How fortunate that the stucco, which had covered the limestone from the late 1800’s until 1976, was removed. What a pleasure to see another building of our stone house legacy being preserved! |