Ohio River Scenic Byway - Georgetown

GEORGETOWN, Ohio (David Kohl/Associated Press) -- The state’s purchase of Ulysses S. Grant’s boyhood home gives Ohio ownership of three key structures from the early life of the 18th president and Civil War hero.

The state paid $200,000 on Thursday for the two-story brick house built in sections by Grant’s father, tanner Jesse Grant, between 1823 and 1829 in this small southern Ohio town.  The State bought the house on behalf of the Ohio Historical Society, which will oversee its operation, said George Kane, the society’s chief of facilities planning.  Grant lived in the Brown County house with his parents from 1823 to 1839, when he left Georgetown to attend West Point and begin the military career that led him to fame as the commander in chief of the Union forces in the Civil War. In 1840, his parents moved the rest of their family to Bethel in neighboring Clermont County.

The historical society has planned for years to buy the house and has been using federal grant money to research the way the house would have looked while young Grant lived there, Kane said yesterday.

The historical society also operates the state-owned schoolhouse that Grant attended in Georgetown and Grant’s birthplace home in Point Pleasant, about 15 miles west. Grant’s family moved from the Point Pleasant house to Georgetown when he was 1.  The Georgetown house is a more significant acquisition because young Grant spent more of his life there than at the one-room house where he was born, Kane said.  “This is really where he grew and matured as a young man,” Kane said.

Wildlife artist John Ruthven and his wife, Judy, bought Grant’s Georgetown house in 1977 to prevent its demolition. The Georgetown couple restored and furnished the house before donating it in 1996 to the U.S. Grant Homestead Foundation. In 1997, the site was opened for public visits under the foundation’s supervision.

A separate organization, the U.S. Grant Homestead Association, will operate the Georgetown house for the historical society as it does with the schoolhouse. Decisions about further restorations are pending, Kane said.

The historical society said it will use funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service to acquire collections in the house and develop exhibits.

• Brown County Courthouse-Designed by Hubbard Baker, the courthouse was completed in 1851 at a cost of $50,000. The north and south wings were added in the early 1900's. Completely renovated after a fire in the 1970's, it is a classic example of Greek Revival architecture.
• Grant Shcoolhouse-a public school built in 1829, served the community for 30 years. The first shcoolmaster was John D. White, who taught two future generals and an admiral-U.S. Grant, Jacob Ammen, and Daniel Ammen. The school was turned over to the Ohio Historical Society in 1941 and was completely restored.
• Grant Tannery-Jesse Grant built this two-story brick building in 1823 for his tannery business. Ulysses, who disliked tanner work, cut and hauled logs for the business.
• Grant Home-built by Jesse Grant in 1823 with additions in 1825 and 1828. Now owned by Mr. & Mrs. John Ruthven, the house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982.
  Open Monday through Friday from 9-5.  For more information call (937)378-4222
• Dr. George Bailey Home-designed by Hubbard Baker and built in 1830 for Dr. Baily, one of Georgetown's early physicians. The Bailey's were close friends of the Grants. In 1876 Jesse Thompson, an attoney, purchased the Greek Revival Temple style home and added the two story wing. The home is now a bed and breakfast operated by Jesse Thompson's great-granddaughter. For information call (937)378-3087
• William Shepherd Home & Brown County Jail. This Federal style house was built in 1834 for Mr. Shepherd. The transom is an unusual mottled rose-colored glass. The house later became the county sheriff's home and now houses the proseutor's office.  The town's third jail is next door and was busilt in 1868 on the site of the first jail at a cost of $34,000. The original jail included a dungeon and stone walls 14 inches thich. The jail now houses the Brown County Genealogy Library.
• Judge David Tarbell Home-built in 1835, the home was later occupied by Mr. Tarbell, an attorney, who became probate judge in 1864. In 1868 he was a representative at the National Democratic Convention at Tammany Hall in New York. In 1871 he was elected common pleas judge and served until 1882.