"" Writer's Wanderings: In My Backyard - The Bramley House

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

In My Backyard - The Bramley House

Just around the corner and up the street a bit is a house that was built in 1856 and has been given over to the Independence Historical Society for restoration. The last owner of the house, Betsey Bramley, passed away in 1996. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. All this history and just a short walk away from us!

We have watched with interest as the yard has been landscaped and work has gone on and we have even participated in one of the fund raising flea markets they held to raise money for the restoration but we have never had a chance to see inside. My husband picked up a brochure recently from our library and it gives some of the history as well as shows pictures of what they've done inside the Bramley House and now I am a bit more informed.

The house was originally built by Jasper Fuller, one of the earliest pioneer settlers in Independence (Ohio) and is made of sandstone block quarried in the Independence area. In 1861, Matthew Bramley and his wife Sarah who emigrated from England in 1842, purchased the house and occupied it with his large family of twelve children. Really? The house doesn't seem big enough.

Ownership of the house stayed in the family through three succeeding generations ending with Betsey Bramley in 1996 and thus represents a 140 year period where the city went from a pioneer agricultural settlement to a populous suburb which is now celebrating its 200th birthday.

Part of the house has been furnished as a place for small business meetings and the rest of the house will continue to be made into a museum. I look forward to the next opportunity to venture inside and explore more of the history of my hometown. How about you? Have you ever explored the history of your
hometown?

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