The Nova House: A Historic 1800s Ohio Farmhouse
Often referred to as the Nova House, this historic farmhouse once held quite an interesting history. I say once held, being that it is one of the many beautiful abandoned homes that now only remain a memory through images and stories. Though it’s often referred to by many as the Nova House, the structure is actually known historically as the Beach House, in relation to its history with Daniel Beach.
So where does Daniel Beach play a part in the history of this home?
The home’s history can be traced all the way back to 1823. A man by the name of Daniel Beach arrived in the area, and became the first white settler in what is now known as Ruggles Township in Ashland County. Ruggles Township in earlier years was actually part of the Fire Lands, which offered land to Connecticut residents who were burned out of their homes by the British during the American Revolution.
So what brought Beach to Ashland County? Well, Beach had actually arrived in Ohio nine years earlier in 1814 with a group of settlers. These settlers had arrived with Reverend David Bacon in hopes of founding a colony in Tallmadge. Not long after, Bacon died on August 17, 1817, and with his death, so did their dreams of colonizing the area. Beach decided to move on, and came to Ruggles Township in the spring of 1823 to scout the land. Later during the summer of that same year, Beach brought his family to a lot, where he would build a homestead for them to live. This lot is now known as Ruggles Corners.
Many settlers followed Beach’s lead and had begun moving into the township, taking up plots of land. On October 28, 1840 William Parker purchased 100 acres from Reuben Woolcott. Within these 100 acres was the particular lot, which would come to be the future build site of the “Nova House.”
Parker owned the land up through 1861. It’s unclear when, but sometime between then and 1874 the lot was purchased by Daniel Beach’s second son. The home was built sometime between 1861 and 1874. It’s unclear what year exactly, but in reference to two separate maps, it would have had to have been built within those years. One map from 1861 shows no structures at the location where the house once stood, but an 1874 map shows both the house and the barn behind it. The home was built in Italianate style, which was popular during the 1860s up until 1890.
Beach had 7 children with his wife Lorinda Sackett—Cyrus S. Beach (September 23, 1810), Reuben Kimball Beach (October 4, 1812), Cordelia M. Beach (October 7, 1814), Harriett L. Beach (August 6, 1816), Daniel B. Beach (May 13, 1820), Wakeman Jessup Beach (January 11, 1825), and William Beach (November 8, 1827).
Wakeman J. Beach would later inherit the family homestead, which by this point in time had grown to a large and very successful farm. This farm was featured in an illustration in the 1874 Caldwell Atlas of Ashland County. In this same atlas, he is still shown as the owner of the farm, with surrounding lands being owned by R. K. Beach. The atlas also shows that R. C. Beach (Rollin Curtiss, married to Harriet Beach) had become the owner of the lot formerly owned by William Parker. The atlas shows buildings where the house and barn stood. He most likely built the home for their family between then and 1874.
The home and farm were sold in 1913 to Ella Miller for $8,265. Ella lived in the home with her husband James A. Miller until her death in 1934. She left behind her widowed husband, six sons, and three married daughters. Following her death, the farm was sold to James Miller (either her husband or son), who then sold it to Elmo Fruth in 1935. The property once again switched hands in 1937, when James sold it to C.C. Johnson. Only three months later Johnson sold the property back, according to a deed filed in 1940. James later died in 1949 in Holmes County, where he was living at that time.
Elmo Fruth owned the land until his death in 1995. The land was then passed down to his nephew Kenneth Fruth. The land remained the same 100 acres purchased by William Parker in 1840, until 1997, when 5 acres was purchased by its present owner. These 5 acres included the house and barn.
While the Fruths owned the land from 1940-1997, it seems they may have rented the home as the family of Ellwood Roscoe Bair is noted to have lived there from 1974-1990.
By the year 2000, the home had fallen into a bit of disrepair, and the current owner had decided to attempt repairs. From what I’ve heard, she had started electrical work, put on a new roof, and was going to begin plaster repairs. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for a strong storm to tear the roof off, and she was unable to replace it again. The contractor she had hired reportedly decided to steal the treads and railing off of the main staircase. With all of this happening, she abandoned any further restorations of the home.
The Beach House then sat abandoned for years, falling further and further into disrepair. It had gained quite a reputation locally as being haunted, though historically there has been no evidence of any of the numerous stories. When I visited the home in early spring of 2014, the trees were still without their leaves, and it was a perfectly warm and breezy day. I sat down on the porch steps and admired the scenery of vast farmland surrounding me. The porch posts had been snapped out of place, now leaning against the outside walls, leaving the roof unsupported other than where it connected to the house. Layers of paint from over the years had been revealed, though now having been weathered for such a long time, the home had been stripped almost entirely down to bare, sun-bleached wood. The siding had begun to warp, pulling itself away from the structure. Most of the roof’s edges still held fairly intact Italianate eaves with decorative support brackets. From the inside, the earthy smell of water damage filled the crumbling hallways and rooms. Over years of rot caused by changing weather and the passing of time, plaster had torn itself away in many areas, dropping to the floor and leaving holes in collapsing walls. Boards had been placed over windows, some of them spaced apart slightly, allowing light to still reach the inside.
The home was burned on Tuesday December 22, 2015. Since there was no electricity or gas running to the house, nor any other source of heat, it was determined to be due to arson. The blaze was fought by the Ruggles-Troy Volunteer Fire Department when they were called to the scene at 2 a.m. By the time they had arrived, the home was already fully engulfed in flames. With help from fire departments from Savanna, New London, Nankin and Polk, they worked for 11 hours to fight the fire and contain it, preventing it to spread to nearby properties. They waited for the historic farmhouse to collapse into the basement, and eventually extinguished the fire from there.
OHIO’S FORGOTTEN HISTORY PARTS 1 & 2:
My 6th and 7th books, and first two in a series of books showcasing Ohio’s abandoned and forgotten history. The house shown in this blog post is one of the places featured in part 2. Orders for my abandoned Ohio books are currently open, and you can find more info about the books at either link below:
Part 1 – HERE
Part 2 – HERE
Both books can be ordered together as a bundle on either page
Help Keep This Blog Alive:
You can help support this blog by clicking HERE and donating whatever you feel is fair. It’s of course never necessary, but if possible it’s greatly appreciated, as it will help keep this blog running, and help so that I can continue to share these places and their stories with you all! I’ve been running this site, and doing everything since 2012. I’d like to keep it that way if possible, and eventually get rid of all of the ads for an ad-free experience for all.
