URBAN REMOVAL
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My thoughts on the razing of the A.N. Myers Home in Ashland’s Historical District
NEWS ITEM: Judge refuses to grant restraining order, clearing the way for the Ashland County Historical Society to raze the A.N. Myers Home on Center Street. Preservation advocates, who tried to block the demolition, said they wouldn’t appeal the decision. The demolition began soon after the ruling was issued.
It was the best house I never lived in.
Three years ago, I almost moved into the A.N. Myers Home. I was thinking about moving into the city and heard that the Historical Society had an efficiency suite for rent on the third floor.
It wasn’t much, but it was perfect for my needs. It had a dormer facing Center Street that afforded an unobstructed view of the Ashland sunrise. I do my best writing in the morning and it would have been a perfect spot for a desk.
The folks at the Historical Society offered me a discount on the rent in exchange for maintenance work inside the house and on the grounds. The latter included chasing skateboarders away. (The kids were especially fond of the handicapped access ramps.)
I had it all figured out. I planned to subcontract the maintenance work to the skateboarders and kill two birds with one stone.
But, things fell through. Which is just as well. I doubt that I could have saved the Myers Home. Not even with the help of the skateboarders. The house seemed to be structurally sound, but it was fragmented and historically compromised from being broken up into apartments. It would have required someone willing to invest a lot of TLC and, quite frankly, more money than it was worth.
And the setting left a lot to be desired. If you were to stand in the side yard on the north side of the house, you couldn’t swing a gerbil — much less a cat — without hitting the Elks Lodge.
Which isn’t to say it was a hopeless cause. Like Rodney and Ann Mohr, I’m of the conviction that anything worth doing is worth doing well — regardless of the personal and financial sacrifice involved.
The Mohrs, who were among those hoping to save the Myers Home, spared the historic McClellan House from the wrecking ball in 2002. They spent a tremendous amount of money moving it across Center Street and restoring it to its former glory.
I really admire that about the Mohrs. It takes that kind of moxie to make a city — as the shakers and movers are so fond of saying — someplace special.
The A.N. Myers Home is history. Funny thing about history; if it repeats itself often enough, there won't be any.
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