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Jeremiah Reeves House and Carriage House
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Jeremiah Reeves House and Carriage House
Courtesy of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, photo by Jeff Winstel

Originally constructed in 1870, the Reeves Mansion was extensively remodeled in 1901. Built as the Valentine Wills farmhouse, the property was acquired by J. R. Reeves in 1898. The location of the house appealed to Mr. Reeves-a small hill overlooking his rolling mills. Three years of work transformed the farmhouse into a high style Queen Anne Gilded Age house with central tower, wrap-around porch, porte-cochere, dormers, bays, and columns. Several other family members and executives of the Reeves enterprise built their homes in the immediate area.

A native of Dorsetshire, England, Jeremiah Reeves worked as a boilermaker and structural ironworker before coming to America in 1867. Jeremiah and his brothers opened the Reeves Boiler Works in Niles, Ohio, in 1873. In 1882, Jeremiah and his brother Jabez acquired the Dover Rolling Mills, which had started operations in the 1860s but had an unstable past. The Reeves brothers remodeled the operations, and by 1896Reeves Steel had 850 workers and was one of the largest industrial employers in the area.

In 1900 Jeremiah Reeves sold the local mills to American Sheet and Tin Plate Co., a subsidiary of U.S. Steel. In 1901 his son Samuel formed the Reeves Manufacturing Co., specializing in galvanized sheet metal. J.R. Reeves branched out into other business ventures, including the founding of the Reeves Banking and Trust Company, a local streetcar line and establishing the Hotel Reeves in nearby New Philadelphia. The Reeves Manufacturing Company acquired the Dover Forge and Iron Co. in 1912 and built four new mills and new fabricating plants. When J.R. Reeves died in 1920, his estate was valued at more than 1.4 million dollars.

Although the house was modernized by family members during the 1940s, its restoration was aided by the memories of surviving descendents. In addition, most of what had been removed in the 1940s was stored in the carriage house, including original linens and drapery, furniture, lighting fixtures and even decorative wood work. Built in 1901, the distinctive carriage house features a large Romanesque style arch entry and large corner property's turrets.

The Jeremiah Reeves House and Carriage House are located at 325 E. Iron Ave., Dover. The house museum is open June 1st-October 1st, Thursday-Sunday from 12:00pm to 4:00pm, and from November 28-December 22 from 2:00pm to 8:00pm; there is a fee for admission. Call 330-343-7040 or visit the Reeves House website for further information.

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