One of the numerous things I love about Ohio is that it holds so many hidden gems. Sometimes these gems are just small spots within towns, while other times it can be the entire town itself. East Liverpool is one of those interesting Ohio towns you can visit numerous times, and still seem to always find something new each time you drive through. One such gem residing within East Liverpool is the historic Richard L. Cawood residence; a home with the combined architectural styles of Mission/Spanish Revival and Italian Renaissance, with some Spanish Eclectic additions, rivaling designs of any other home in the area. The Cawood mansion is a home that will surely make you feel as if you’ve traveled far from a rust belt town in Eastern Ohio.

Now the home may be no huge secret to those living in East Liverpool, seeing as it’s one of the more notable historical landmarks in town, but many outside of the town have no idea of its existence. I’m always intrigued when thinking about places like this, wondering how many similar places could exist in towns all across not only Ohio, but any other state as well. I know I’d never be able to see them all before some are gone forever, but dammit, I’ll try my best. 

The home was built in 1923 by Richard L. Cawood – one of many wealthy businessmen to live in the area during the earlier 1900s. He would live in this home with his wife Mary, and his two daughters, Mary and Sara.

Cawood built most of his wealth as the president of the Patterson Foundry, but also owned a steel mill. It’s clear by looking through this home that Cawood had a large interest in architecture of all styles. Aside from his industrial business, thanks to his deep interest in architecture, Cawood would also often design smaller homes. It would not be until 1923 though, after nearly ten years of design evolution that his own home would come to completion. The home was built by architects Peterson & Clark Livingston, and features elements such as a tower, a chapel, which has unfortunately now collapsed in on itself, and a Porte-cochère (a doorway to a building or courtyard, literally translated as ‘coach gateway.’) These doorways were large enough for vehicles to pass through, and would often be the space where passengers would be let out to enter either the home or courtyard. 

The home is filled with beautiful architectural elements from the intricately carved ceiling beams down to the ornate door handles and stone floors. A brick walkway runs through a sun porch leading to the kitchen, and you’ll even find a small personal elevator, which Cawood had added to the design. 

While East Liverpool may seem like a smaller town with less going on today, it does hold quite an important, and extensive industrial history along with 16 properties and 3 districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

East Liverpool was originally named Fawcettstown after Thomas Fawcett, who, in 1798, had purchased 1,100 acres of land along the Ohio River. Within this acreage he had also platted the town of St. Clair, which was named after then-governor of the Northwest Territory Arthur St. Clair. In 1816, the town’s name was changed to Liverpool, but due to worries of confusion with Liverpool Township in Medina County, it was agreed that the name should be changed. In 1834, the town was incorporated as East Liverpool, and to this day keeps this name. 

The town had become known far and wide for its pottery industry as they had become the national center of ceramic toilet and table wares. Between 1880-1950, there were 85 different firms in and out of operation supplying two-thirds of the national toilet and tableware output. In 1923, there were 7,000 employees across 17 firms operating 270 kilns. Can you imagine how many toilets were made here? Other potteries as well, but just imagine the toilets. Such wonderful days. Their annual output was around $25,000,000. 

East Liverpool’s pottery industry was started by Englishman James Bennett in 1839. Before their leap into toilets, the town was known for their rich local clays and quality crockery, earning them the nickname “The Crockery City.”

Among some of the most famous ceramics to come from East Liverpool was Lotus Ware; a collection of Moorish and Persian-influenced artware produced by Knowles, Taylor & Knowles in the 1890s. The ceramics had risen to great popularity after winning a competition at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The largest public display of Lotus Ware can be seen at the Museum of Ceramics in downtown East Liverpool.

Most of the potters in East Liverpool had come over from Staffordshire, England in search of higher wages and an opportunity to own a piece of land for themselves. By 1879, 24 different potteries operated in town, with most of them being operated by the immigrants who had come from Staffordshire. Up until the early 1900s, nearly 85% of the town’s entire population could be traced to an English background. In the 1910s, East Liverpool’s population had more than doubled as more industrial workers located here due to the growth of the pottery industry. Following the English were German settlers, and during the early 1900s the town’s population had grown to over 20,000. Over the course of the town’s history, there had been more than 300 potteries in operation at one time or another. Today, only 3 of these remain in operation, including the American Mug & Stein Company, the Hall China Company, and the Homer Laughlin China Company. 

By the mid-1960s, the pottery industry had begun a steady decline as much production had moved to other countries where labor costs were cheaper. Despite the decline, the town’s population reached its peak in 1970 when there were more than 26,000 residents. However, this wouldn’t last for long as many would begin moving away in search of jobs. Population in this area of Ohio/West Virginia would start to rapidly decline into the 1990s. By the mid-1990s however, it was decided to renovate East Liverpool’s downtown district. Depression-era light posts were installed to complement the architecture, and better fit the historic integrity of the town. The high school’s clocktower was also reconstructed, and a new center called Devon’s Diamond was developed.

Among the places listed on the National Register of Historic Places is the Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey, which is also the only National Historic Landmark in Columbiana County. Other structures, like the Cawood mansion, are former homesteads of prominent business owners of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Besides the Cawood mansion, others are the Cassius Clark Thompson House (1876), Ikirt House (1888), Homer Laughlin House (1882), and Godwin-Knowles House (1890).

Richard Cawood was living in East Liverpool when he passed away in August 1968 at 86 years old. The Cawood home was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1988.

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Thanks for checking out Architectural Afterlife! If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy checking out these other abandoned or historic places in Ohio.