GALION, Ohio — One of Galion’s historic homes will be sold at auction later this month. Not only is it on the National Register of Historic Places, it is one of the best maintained historic homes in central Ohio.
The house, locally known as the “Howard House,” 230 S. Boston St., Galion, has had only three owners, and the last two have helped maintain the home’s architectural and historic integrity.
“It has all of the original chandeliers. Mr. Fulton came in and did a lot of restoration on the inside and he did some on the outside, just getting it back in shape,” said Craig Miley, realtor and auctioneer. Then Dale and Amy Harrell added a new roof, a new heat system and electrical upgrades.
The 5,000 square foot house was built in 1898 for Adam Howard. Howard formed the Galion Buggy Company after working with his father, Adam Howert Sr. (name later anglicized to Howard) in the Howard Buggy. When the automobile began to outpace buggies, Howard formed the A. Howard Co. and designed and built several automobiles named “the Howard.” In 1914 or 1915, he designed several experimental cars, including an electric car.
Howard Jr. and his wife Sarah Ann had three children. That’s important for the home’s next owners to know because portraits of the children: Ida (Howard) Barr (the last Howard homeowner), and Arthur and Paul Howard, will remain with the house.
The home remained in the Howard family until Barr’s death in 1969.
The home was then purchased by Dr. Richard L. Fulton of Mansfield in 1970. He worked as a chiropractor for 20 years and at General Motors for 50 years. Greg Glasser said he wasn’t sure how his father-in-law learned about the house, because he graduated from Elyria High School and then came to Mansfield to work at General Motors.
Glasser said Fulton spent two or three years completely restoring the house after he bought it. “If he hadn’t bought it, I’m not sure it would still be there. It needed a lot of work and he put a lot of time and energy in it and brought it back to life for everybody’s benefit.”
“He loved that place–that was his baby. Originally he was going to restore it and sell it, but he fell in love with it and kept it for 40 years until he passed away. He would have never been able to sell it while he was living. And after he passed away, we couldn’t continue to maintain it the way he did. It was bittersweet but we couldn’t keep it,” Glasser added.
Miley was particularly impressed with Fulton’s restoration of the ceiling borders. During a recent tour, he also pointed out a number of the original features, like the coal and wood-burning iron stove, built-in cabinetry, service call system, and dumbwaiter.
“He repainted all of the ceilings. They were very faded. He actually repainted those shortly before he passed away. He was in his late 70s when he painted them again, believe it or not. He made stencils of them (the original patterns) and traced outlines of them,” said Glasser.
Glasser said his father-in-law appreciated the home’s history, so much so that he took the necessary steps to have the house listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
“We appreciated the history of it, too. In fact, my wife (Joyce) and I were married in the house right at the bottom of the steps in the foyer. That was in 1979,” he said. Fulton held a number of open houses and wedding receptions at the house over the years.
The most recent owners are Dale and Amy Harrell. They planned to retire in Galion and host events at the house.
“But my husband is in the Air Force; I was in the Air Force before. The plan was to retire as soon as he was eligible and use the house and do tours. But he’s decided he’s doing well and he’s had some good opportunities he’s not ready to give up yet, so he decided to extend and stay in the military,” Amy Harrell said.
With Dale Harrell’s extension in the Air Force and the distance they will live from Galion, it didn’t seem practical to try to maintain the house.
“I grew up in Ohio. My parents just live down the road in New Winchester and I graduated from Colonel Crawford High School,” Amy Harrell noted. And her extended family is in the area. But the Air Force took the couple to Florida and Germany.
“I always wanted to buy a house in Ohio and move back. So, when we were in Germany, I was homesick and the house became available and it sounded like a really good idea at the time,” she said. “Plans change. It’s bittersweet. The house is beautiful and we’ve loved having it.
“When we were in Germany we had opportunities pretty much every weekend to go to flea markets in France, Germany and Belgium. Most of the people in that area are modernizing so they’re buying things like at IKEA and they’re getting rid of their antiques. So, a lot of the things that we bought were just going so cheaply I couldn’t pass them up. I had to keep apologizing to my husband,” Harrell added.
Those purchases account for the greatest portion of personal goods to be sold at the auction.
The Howard family punch bowl set and the original dining room table will sell among the personal possessions. However, the Howard family Bible and portraits of the Howard children, original screens, and the house blueprints (originals and copies) will remain as part of the sale of the house.
The Harrells appreciated Fulton’s restorative work.
“We didn’t really make any changes other than structural things,” she said, “and we tried to keep, if not the same materials, then at least the same look as the materials.”
For example, the slate roof needed to be replaced and they replaced it with a stamped metal roof that bears the appearance of slate tiles. The carriage house could not be saved. After consulting with several Amish builders, the cost of rebuilding the rotting structure was prohibitive. But they did purchase the neighboring property and razed the house which expanded the lawn and added a barn.
Glasser said he was saddened to learn the Harrells weren’t able to keep the house and he and his wife hope new owners will maintain the home’s integrity. Amy Harrell agreed wholeheartedly.
The house and personal property will sell at auction through Craig A. Miley Realty & Auction on Saturday, Aug. 22 at noon; the personal property, most of it the European antiques collected by the Harrells will sell at 10 a.m. For the full listing, visit their web page and click on the photo link to see more photos of the homes interior or read more about the history of the Howard family.
