Main Local National Register - Downtown Historic - Bucyrus Mausoleum - D. Picking & Co. - T&OC

Scroggs House - Chesney House - Blair House - Harris House - Beer House - McGraw House

The Judge Thomas Beer House

306 W. Southern Ave.

Description and Present Physical Appearance

This property is situated in a residential neighborhood on the southwest side of Bucyrus. The Judge Thomas Beer House is a two-story rectangular building with a rock-faced ashlar stone foundation and weatherboard siding construction. The entire structure is 38 feet wide by 63 feet long. The south front facade is five bays wide with double-hung windows featuring louvered shutters and pedimented window heads. Extending from the center of the front facade is a one-bay pedimented projection featuring second-story paired windows and an entry porch with balcony, ornate wooden posts, and lattice base. Above the double doors with glass panels is a single transom light. The east facade features a bay window with three lights and a side porch enclosed with lattice screening. Above the porch is a small gable dormer window. The eaves are supported by large paired brackets. The low pitch hip roof is topped by a monitor. The two single stacked interior and end chimneys have corbelled chimney caps. The interior woodwork is of cherry and a rare red cedar.

January 2002 update: In 2000 a 28' X 38' two story Victorian carriage house was constructed. The structure was modelled from an 1850's carriage barn that was torn down from the Cronnick property on South Sandusky. The building consists of three stalls on the Spring Street side. The opposite side has an overhang the full length of the building. A tiered brick patio is attached to the west side of the carriage house, the bricks all were from Bucyrus manufactures. The second floor has enclosed louvered shutters on both ends and one arched window facing Spring Street. All window and door trim is an exact duplication of cutouts taken from the old barn. The inside has period lighting from local county schools that have been torn down. There is also an oak stairway railing taken from the Quimby Block on Washington Square.

Historical Significance

The Judge Thomas Beer House, built in 1863 for the distinguished attorney and judge active in state government, is significant as one of the three houses left in Bucyrus built by George Ross, a popular contractor in Crawford County. The other two houses are on the National Register. This is one of the earliest houses Ross built, and all his buildings were from his own plans. The house features excellent Italianate detailing in the large paired brackets, the low pitched hip roof and monitor, the pedimented window detailing, and the front entry porch. The general massing of the building with its five front bays and projecting center bay is also typical of the Italianate style at this time. The use of rare red cedar for the interior woodwork is also important. While serving as a local judge and in the state legislature, Beer farmed the land around this house for many years; newer houses surrounding the house were built by subdividing this farm land. The house stayed in the Beer family until 1977.

George Ross was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany and came to America with his parents, locating in Crawford County in 1854. He learned the carpenter's trade and formed a partnership with his younger brother, Phillip. The other two houses he built that are still standing in Bucyrus are the Charles J. Scroggs House (Italianate) and the McGraw House (Second Empire).

Judge Thomas Beer came to Bucyrus in 1860 to assume the editorship of the Crawford County Forum, a county newspaper. In 1862 he was admitted to the bar and began to practice law in Bucyrus. From 1864 until 1868, he served in the state legislature. In 1873, he was appointed a member of the state constitutional convention in Cincinnati. Governor Allen appointed Beer judge of common pleas court, a position he held from 1874 until 1885. He also served on the circuit court bench until he retired from public service in 1893. Judge Beer twice declined nominations for Supreme Court judge and governor of Ohio. Always a lover of nature and farming, he raised Jersey cattle on his farm in Bucyrus. After the judge's death, his wife Dorcas and members of his household, Mary and Catherine Beer, remained on the property. In 1977 Miss Mary Beer sold the family home to George Frtiz. Mike and Sharon Zahn purchased the home in May of 1986 and have restored the home and property to its original splendor.

 

News / Contact Us / Links / Site Map / Donation

700 East Rensselaer Street Bucyrus, Ohio 44820

©2002, Bucyrus Preservation Society, all rights reserved.