Parmly Mansion, also known as the Lorimer Mansion is one of the oldest standing structures in Perry, Ohio. Unfortunately, it has now been abandoned for years and becomes closer and closer to fading away from existence as it cracks and falls apart. Before we get into the history of this home though, I’d like to back track just a slight bit into the history of the Parmly family.

Let’s start with Eleazer Parmly—the father of Jehiel Parmly and 4 other brothers; only one of whom had not become interested in the world of dentistry. It was quite a popular subject in the family.

Eleazer Parmly was one of the earliest settlers in Perry Township during the very early 1800s. He traveled here from Vermont with his wife Hanna Spear, and established a pioneer home in 1817. Before them, their two married daughters had arrived in the area—the first, Hanna Burridge arrived in 1814, followed shortly after by Betsey Hurlbert in 1816.

In 1820, his son Jehiel traveled to London to practice dentistry. Only 3 years later, he returned to the US and soon became one of the most successful practitioners in New York City, standing at the head of his profession for over 30 years. He traveled around the South and Midwest as a transient dentist treating patients. He had even treated President James Monroe. Unfortunately, his father would not see any of this happen, as he died shortly after his son’s return in 1825 at the age of 59. He is buried in Perry Township Cemetery.

In 1834, Jehiel moved to Perry Township and built the mansion. The mansion can be seen today directly west next to Perry Township Park. The beautiful brick structure was built atop a hill that overlooks Lake Erie. Six years after building this home, Jehiel would also build the first major industry for Perry—a flour mill called ‘The Red Mill.’

In 1850, Jehiel retired from dentistry as he had decided to settle down permanently at the mansion with his wife, Eliza Pleasants. He lived in the mansion until his death in 1876—he was 74 years old. Fifteen years later, his wife died in Perry Township in 1891.

The mansion had remained mostly unused from 1891-1918, when the Lorimer family bought the house and its surrounding acreage. The Lorimers planned to utilize the space as part of an overnight summer camp called Camp Roosevelt for Boys. The camp was founded by William L. Lorimer (often known by his nickname “Dub”) who eventually sold it to his son, Bill in 1946. For years, Bill managed the camp with Judy Lorimer—one of his two daughters. The camp remained successful until the late 1980s, when nuclear power made its way into Perry. When FirstEnergy placed their nuclear power plant in North Perry in 1987, the camp lost 70 percent of its average yearly attendance. Families were too nervous about sending their children, because the camp was so close to the plant.

Eventually the decision was made to change the camp name to Roosevelt Country Day Camp, and move locations while still keeping the offices at the mansion. The camp moved several times to numerous different locations. In 2002, Bill Lorimer decided to sell the mansion, along with 20.5 acres of surrounding land to Perry Township for $840,000. The township agreed to let him live in the mansion as part of their deal. Bill Lorimer died April 1, 2012, and the camp was closed only months later. His daughter Judy continues to operate a horse stable business near Perry Township Park.  

The mansion known often as “Old Main” since the early 1900s is now 185 years old. There are only a few buildings throughout Perry Village and North Perry Village that are older.

After some time of abandonment and neglect, the brick work has begun to crack upwards. The interior is now home to bats and other animals and would require quite a bit of cleaning up. With repair costs easily reaching into the hundreds of thousands, the township has been unable to afford to save the house themselves. With the mansion being one of the oldest buildings in Perry, township officials see how irreplaceable it is. They had said that instead of demolishing it, they would rather see it go to a developer that can restore it to use as a bed and breakfast.

Thank you for checking out Architectural Afterlife! If you enjoyed this story, or any others on this blog, be sure to check out “Forgotten Dreams”

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