The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
SITES ON ENDANGERED LIST
Fate of Parmly/Lorimer home, Sawyer House still to be determined
The following factors are considered when compiling the list: demolition threat, abandonment, neglectful owner, deterioration, obsolete use, lack of funding for repairs, location or development.
Charlotte Kline can recall the Parmly Mansion in better days.
The Perry Township Park manager, whose dad coached at the ballfields nearby, remembers it as a “really fancy place” in the mid-’60s.
“I’ve watched the demise of this house,” she said, on a recent visit.
Built along the lake shore in 1834 by dentist Jahial Parmly, the brick Federal-style home has made Preservation Ohio’s list of Most Endangered Historic Sites for 2020.
“It certainly is endangered, because it’s on the edge of the lake,” said Sally Malone of the Perry Historical Society of Lake County. She noted that the Parmly dentists were world-renowned, treating patients in Europe.
Preservation Ohio — described on its website as the state’s oldest statewide historic preservation organization — also selected the Sawyer House in Mentor for the 2020 list.
The list highlights historic buildings and sites submitted from local citizens and advocates, each hoping to bring attention and to identify ways to give important historic properties a future. Ten properties representing all areas of Ohio are included in this year’s edition.
“This year, Preservation Ohio received more nominations for this important list than ever before, which confirms both that much of our state’s historic properties remain at risk and that interest in preservation is growing across the state of Ohio,” the website says.
Making the list has contributed to saving examples of Ohio’s architectural, cultural and natural heritage, according to the site.
The following factors are considered when compiling the list: demolition threat, abandonment, neglectful owner, deterioration, obsolete use, lack of funding for repairs, location or development.
The Parmly/Lorimer house
The Lorimer family bought the Parmly Mansion and its surrounding acreage in 1918 and founded Camp Roosevelt for Boys.
Bill Lorimer bought the camp from his father in 1946. He sold the mansion and 20.5 acres of surrounding land to Perry Township for $840,000 in 2002. The deal included allowing him to remain in the home until his death, in 2012.
Township officials have tried to find a developer to restore it ever since. Funding like the federal grant used to buy the property has dried up, said Trustee Board Chairman Rick Amos.
He estimated it would take up to $1 million to restore the dilapidated building. While the foundation has been deemed sound, the structure appears on its way to being swallowed up by nature.
“For the house to be used, it would take a major rehab,” he said. “Think Steele Mansion. … Right now the best plan we have is to board it up the best we can and keep it from falling in on itself until somebody could come in and (rescue it).
“As much as you have sympathy and nostalgia for that, it serves no purpose for the township at large.”
Some say it would make a nice bed and breakfast, with its proximity to the township event center and its lake view.
“Even when you’re on life support, you hope for a miracle,” he said.
The Daniel Sawyer House
Designated as a “Heritage Home” by the Lake County Historical Society, the 177-year-old Sawyer House sits near the busy intersection of Old Johnnycake Ridge Road and Route 20 in Mentor.
The Western Reservestyle building, made of large cut stone served as a home until 1923. Since then, it has been headquarters for Wayside Gardens, an engineering firm and several restaurants, the last of which was Local Tavern. The tavern closed in 2016.
Lake County Historical Society and Mentor City leaders made attempts to save the structure after learning of potential redevelopment on the site. However, the costs to move it to a new location were prohibitive.
Property owner Dennis J. Koury obtained a demolition permit from the city in 2018, but there has been little visible movement since.
As of earlier this week, Koury said there was an offer on the property.