Editor’s note: This article is part of a three-part series leading up to Friday’s publication of the Daily Citizen’s Home & Garden Tour Preview. The Champaign County Preservation Alliance’s annual Historic Home & Garden Tour will take place in St. Paris on June 23 and 24.
A bridge is closed on West U.S. Route 36 between Zimmerman and Kite roads through Aug. 10, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. The official ODOT detour from the Urbana area to St. Paris is state Route 560 to state Route 29 to state Route 235.
In this second of three reports on the interconnections of St. Paris sites on the 26th annual Champaign County Preservation Alliance (CCPA) Historic Home and Garden Tour, we report on the connections of a man, his business and his religion to three sites on this year’s tour.
The first owner of the home at 274 W. Walnut St. in St. Paris was Isaiah P. Kizer, a Civil War veteran, justice of the peace, lumber dealer and devout Methodist. Kizer was the president of the Kizer and Long Lumber Company, which was the largest dealer in construction material in western Champaign County. When, in 1902, he remodeled his West Walnut Street house he installed the finest woodwork in the entry, hall and parlors to demonstrate the quality of products available from Kizer and Long Lumber Company. The woodwork is still intact, has never been painted and can be viewed at the home at 274 W. Walnut St. on the upcoming tour June 23 & 24.
The Kizer and Long Lumber Company was the primary supplier of wood and metal to the Walborn and Riker Pony Wagon factory, whose fortunes rose with the world-wide popularity of the petite carriages. The company’s wood and metal were delivered to the Pennsylvania Rail Road Freight Depot, and the finished wagons were shipped from that building. The Depot now serves as the “Pony Wagon Museum” and is another site featured on the home and garden tour.
“There is one more historical connection we discovered relating to Isaiah P. Kizer,” Robert Pollock, the tour’s researcher, said. “Isaiah P. Kiser was a founding member of the Methodist-Episcopal Church in St. Paris. He and his partner H. H. Long donated all of the bricks, blocks and lumber used in building the church at 208 W. Walnut St., St. Paris.” The St. Paris United Methodist members are the descendants of the earlier ME Church and the sanctuary is part of the tour this year. “I hope everyone will enjoy all of these wonderful and linked tour sites,” said Pollock.
The Champaign County Preservation Alliance (CCPA) is looking forward to the 26th annual Historic Home and Garden Tour and is excited to be featuring the village of Saint Paris. The tour will be held June 23 & 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the village.
Pre-sale tickets are available at local banks and retailers. A complete list is available on the web site www.ccpaurbanaohio.com
Pre-sale tickets are $12 and tickets tour weekend will be $15 and may be purchased at the Welcome Tent located at the old junior high school, 370 E. Main St., St. Paris. For more information please call 800-791-6010.
