Lundy, Benjamin, House - Mount Pleasant, Ohio - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

From historical marker:

After witnessing the slave trade in Wheeling, Virginia, Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lundy (1789-1839) resolved to battle the institution, first organizing the Union Humane Society in St. Clairsville in 1815. In 1821, Lundy moved to Mount Pleasant and began publishing the Genius of Universal Emancipation, a newspaper devoted wholly to anti-slavery issues. The newspaper would later be published in Tennessee, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. Lundy traveled widely to promote circulation, lecturing on the moral evils of slavery and its associated negative economic and social effects. The Lundy home served as an Underground Railroad stop.

From National Historic Landmark District Nomination:

506 Union St., is typical of the two story Federal, Flemish bond brick buildings erected as the village prospered and grew during the War of 1812. Referred to locally as the Benjamin Lundy House-Free Labor Store, it is more appropriately associated with Dr. Isaac Parker, who owned the property from 1815 until 1843. The three-bay structure on the East Side was built prior to 1815 by Enoch Harris and perhaps operated as a hotel/boarding house for visitors exploring prospects in the booming town. The two-bay addition on the west was apparently built shortly after Dr. Parker's purchase, perhaps to provide space for examining and treating patients. Parker was a leader of the Quaker community, serving as one of the five trustees of the Ohio Yearly Meeting from its founding in 1815 until its division in 1831. Charles Osborn's journal recorded staying with Parker when he visited the Mt. Pleasant Yearly Meeting in 1815 and Parker undoubtedly hosted many visiting Quaker leaders during this time period. Benjamin Lundy may have stayed here briefly after his marriage in 1815 or later when he participated in Ohio Yearly Meetings but he was already establishing his saddle business in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and is known to have organized the Union Humane Society there that summer. Oral tradition and an historic photograph indicate that this was one of the three different sites occupied by the Free Labor Store at Mt. Pleasant from 1848 to 1857. 21 After the death of his wife, Dr. Parker married Quaker widow Hannah Hosier who sold her property on the north side of the street to the trustees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church for their first church building, a structure that no longer survives.

The house listed as a National Historic Landmark is in very poor condition. The house is owned by an absentee owner. Various historical societies have made effort to work with owner to stabilize and restore the house but at this time it continues to deteriorate.

Street address: 506 Union Street Mount Pleasant, Ohio County / Borough / Parish: Jefferson Year listed: 1974 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person Periods of significance: 1800-1824 Historic function: Domestic Current function: Vacant/Not In Use Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/19/2015 TyroneShoelaces visited it