Brooks, James, House
About this property
The James Brooks House is a historic house in downtown Dayton, Ohio, United States. Built in the 1830s and significantly modified later in the century, it was named a historic site in the 1970s. The Brooks House is a stone building with a brick foundation, an asphalt roof, and additional elements of stone and iron. Its basic plan is a simple rectangle, two stories tall, with an exposed basement. Additional rooms are created by a rear extension that was formed by walling up a large two-story veranda. The facade is three bays wide, with windows in the central and eastern bays of all three floors; the western bay is occupied by a window (second story) and the main entrance (first story), while the western bay of the basement is blocked by a small staircase. Pilasters with Ionic capitals separate the second-story windows, while no comparable ornament is present below. A shallow hip roof covers the building, pierced by chimneys on either side, while its overhang permits room for a cornice composed of large bracket. The sides are noticeably plainer, with the most prominent element of the western side being a simple fire escape. The house's early history is rather enigmatic. It was built for English immigrant Thomas Clegg, a small-scale industrialist who owned Dayton's first iron and brass foundries, although the precise date is uncertain; a stone building was constructed on the present house's site in 1831, and while this may be the present house, it might not have been constructed until the following year. Montgomery County tax records are also inconclusive: they prove that Clegg never owned the property, nor paid taxes on it, but they fail to identify the owner of the property when the house was built. While the original design was clearly Greek Revival in style, renovations in the middle of the nineteenth century included modifications to the cornice and other changes that together produced an appearance typical of the Victorian era. In 1975, the Brooks House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying because of its historically significant architecture. Another building with the same designation, the Dr. Jefferson A. Walters House, lies in the same block of First Street.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Brooks, James, House
This page lists Brooks, James, House. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Brooks, James, House listed on the National Register?
Brooks, James, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 28, 1975.
What type of historic resource is Brooks, James, House?
Brooks, James, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Brooks, James, House?
The period of significance for Brooks, James, House is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Brooks, James, House?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Brooks, James, House will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Montgomery County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Montgomery County.
Explore MontgomeryCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Brooks, James, House will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.