HISTORY OF THE HOME
The house at 58 West Fifth Street is on the National Register of Historic Places. A fine representation of early 19th century federal and greek revival architecture, the home has been owned by several notable names in the early history of Ohio. The original home was built in 1805 by Nathaniel Willis, who emigrated from Boston where he ran a prominent, patriot newspaper during
the American Revolution, the "Independent Chronicle". Willis was the son of a Boston sailmaker and he was a participant in the Boston Tea Party at the age of 18. He moved to the frontier in the late 1780s and started a newspaper, "The Potomac Guardian, which is considered the first one in what is now the State of West Virginia. He then moved to Chillicothe in the Northwest Territory in 1797 and started the "Scioto Gazette", which is the oldest continually printed newspaper west of the Appalachian Mountains. Willis had a total of 14 children between two wives, Lucy Douglas and Mary Cartmell. One of their sons, Nathaniel Jr., became a well-known newspaperman in his own right in Boston. Another was composer Richard Storrs Willis who wrote the medley for "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear". His daughter, Sara, was a columnist and novelist who wrote under the pen name F***y Fern. The home changed hands a couple times shortly after Willis sold, until Thomas James bought the home in 1812. James came from a long line of iron masters, and operated several iron forges in southern Ohio in the early 1800s. He expanded the home with a two story addition in 1815, and moved the front entrance of the home to face 5th St. ornamented with a gorgeous federal arch entrance. Due to his growing family he expanded the home in the 1830s with a 5-room, two-story addition complete with a Greek Revival portico. Fortunately, he kept the federal archway to serve as a striking feature in the foyer. James was involved in several businesses and served as president of the Bank of Chillicothe. His first wife was Charlotte Massie, sister of Revolutionary War General Nathaniel Massie. They had 5 children; four of whom died young. He later married Jane Byrne Claypool and they had 12 children. It has been written that the James home played a central role in the social scene of early Chillicothe, and that both Charlotte and Jane were known for their charm, grace and hospitality. In 1826 Thomas James started an iron forge in the Missouri territory, named Maramec Iron Works. Legend has it that he learned of the rich ground from a traveling band of Shawnee. Maramec was the first iron forge west of the Mississippi River, and provided iron essentials for westward pioneers, gold rushers, and the Union Army during the Civil War. The business was run by his son, William, and unfortunately closed in 1891. The city of St. James, MO is named in honor of Thomas James, Father of the Western Iron Industry. The site of the works is now privately owned by The James Foundation and open for public recreation. After Thomas' death, his wife and later her brother owned the home until the 1870s when it was bought by Matthew and Eleanor Worthington Tiffin-Cook. Eleanor was the daughter of the first governor of Ohio, Edward Tiffin. She and Matthew added the formal dining room and orangery, where she grew orchids. Her niece was former First Lady, Lucy Webb Hayes. Her husband, President Rutherford Hayes sent Eleanor some palm trees from the White House Conservatory. It is said that those ferns survived for quite some time and were often seen out front of the house. The house continued to be owned by Eleanor's descendants along the matrilineal line (Cook, McCallum, Biggs) until the late 1990s.
