The Harris House (Rosedale Cottage)

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The Stephen R. Harris House

(Rosedale Cottage)

548 East Street

DESCRIPTION AND PRESENT PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Located on East Street in a residential neighborhood, the Stephen R. Harris house (also known as Rosedale Cottage) is a three story irregularly shaped structure built on an ashlar stone foundation with cut stone water table and common bond brick construction. The entire structure is forty feet wide by one hundred twenty-five feet long.

The front façade is three bays wide with the first floor featuring a raised open porch with wooden posts and balustrade and a hip roof. The tall windows are double hung with single light sash. The main door, located on the left side of the façade, features a single glass panel, a multi-light transom and a screen door. The second story double hung windows have four over four lights, stone sills and pediment shaped window heads. The front section of the house has a steeply pitched cross-gable roof. A wheel window highlights the front gable. The north façade features an additional entrance and a walkway covered by a flat roof with exposed rafters supported by Tuscan style columns. Both the north and south façade gables feature round arched windows at the attic. The south façade includes a three story four bay tower with double hung, four over four light windows with stone sills and radiating arches. Built at a later date than the rest of the house, the tower is topped by battlements. Iron anchor beams are visible along the south wall. The rear portion of the structure is comprised of several gabled sections featuring horizontal wood shingles in imbricate style and interior brick chimneys. Located behind the hose is a brick barn, twenty-six feet wide by sixty-five feet long covered by a gable end slate roof.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The Stephen R. Harris House, built in 1863, is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture. The present appearance is much the same as shown in a drawing found in the 1873 Crawford County Atlas. The structure has retained many of its early details: a wheel window on the front façade gable of the steeply pitched gable roof, iron anchor beams and a three story tower topped with battlements.

The Stephen R. Harris House is also significant due to its early owner's contributions to community activities in Bucyrus. Stephen R. Harris came to Bucyrus in 1849, the same year he was admitted to the bar. Harris practiced law in Bucyrus, held the office of mayor in 1852 and was elected to the state legislature in 1895, serving one term. In 1853, he married Mary Jane Monnett and they had four children. Their daughter Nellie bequeathed the bulk of her estate to the Bucyrus Public Library as a permanent memorial to her father. Another daughter, Sallie, married Rufus Sears, a local lawyer, in 1888. In 1893, Sears went into partnership with S. R. Harris. In 1988, Rufus and Sallie acquired the Harris House. Rufus Sears died in 1941 but subsequent members of the Sears family lived in the house until 1966 when it was sold to James Colleen. In 1969 the property was purchased by James Bull. Paul Sissler bought the property in 1977. In 1979 Bruce Chamlis purchased the house.

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700 East Rensselaer Street Bucyrus, Ohio 44820