New memories from old walls: Restoring iconic historic home
Aron Wright House listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
Dr. Aaron Wright was the son of Jonathan Wright, the founder of Springboro.
The Wright family left a huge legacy on the area. In Springboro in the 19th Century, they built homes, churches, a general store, two grist mills and a woolen mill. The Johnathan Wright Elementary School in Springboro bears Aron’s father’s name.
Aron was a medical doctor who graduated from Yale in 1836. He practiced medicine for 17 years in New York before returning home to Springboro.
He was a quaker and one of the founders and the first president of the Miami Valley College, a Quaker institution located across the street from Aron’s home.
In the cholera epidemic of 1849, Wright gave free treatment to patients. He kept a carriage at the door at all times and had a special suit of clothes sewn so he could jump from bed and get to the sick as quickly as possible.
Aron or Aaron?
Although some modern documents refer to Wright by Aaron, his preferred spelling was Aron.
The house
When Aron Wright decided to return to Springboro from New York, his wife Mary was reluctant to leave her home. To entice her to move, Aron built the house in Springboro in a similar style to their New York home.
The home is a combination of styles -- Queen Anne, American Queen Anne, Greek Revival and Italianate but comes closest to Second Empire, says Cheryl Dillin.
The house served as Aron’s office and waiting room as well as the Wright family home.
It’s 7,500 square feet and sits on 6 acres of land in the middle of Springboro. The land is called Maplewood Acres, so named for a beautiful maple tree that once stood at the front of the property. Aron is said to have remarked that he’d rather move the house than the tree.
Built in 1857, it’s been listed on the National Register of
Historic Places since 1979.
It’s believed to be the first house in Southwest Ohio with running water.
The extended Wright family was heavily involved in the Underground Railroad, and it’s speculated that the Aron Wright home was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
The house still has an original pull-type bell that chimes in what was formerly the carriage driver’s room in the attic, a way to summon a carriage whenever it was needed.
The house was built to accommodate Quaker gatherings, and the tall windows could be used like doors.
Some say the house is haunted by a friendly ghost. Cheryl Dillin hasn’t seen the ghostly woman, but some employees and guests say they have. She’s a welcoming spirit and plays no mischief.