In a few hours, the history and grandeur of Sebring’s most beautiful home was wiped away. This photograph of the back of the home shows the empty shell a few days after the devastating Thanksgiving Day fire. The home was torn down soon after.
This photo postcard was taken from the roof of the Mahoning Building in 1907. Looking north, down North Fifteenth Street, Maryland Avenue is visible. The home on the northwest corner is the residence of Sebring’s first postmaster, Dick Albright. On the east side, between Maryland and Indiana Avenues, the Fred Sebring residence is the brick structure with the Queen Anne tower. Also note that the Methodist Church is visible in the photograph.
The Fred Sebring residence is located at 438 North Fifteenth Street. The only brother who did not build on West Ohio Avenue, Fred was head of the Limoges China Company and founded the Saxon China Company. This home is very similar to the Will Sebring residence, which is now the Dean Funeral Home, since the same architectural details can be noted in both houses. Fred Sebring died on December 13, 1925, of a heart attack. He had just returned from an extensive visit to Sebring, Florida, and was discussing the trip with his wife Kathryn when he was stricken. The home was purchased by Druggist Lewis A. Bandy and remained his residence until his death in the 1940s. The home was restored by the Risbecks in the late 1980s early 1990s. The home was purchased, in the fall of 1995, by Rachel and Trevor Cannell, who have continued the restoration. Mr. Cannell is assistant director of Pharmacy at Alliance Community Hospital.
Before the palatial residence at the corner of West Ohio Avenue and 18th Street was built for Frank A. Sebring, he lived in this house on the north side of West Ohio Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets. Built in 1900, it was the second Sebring family residence to be built in the new community. When the residence was built, it had a box-like appearance to it. The extensive front porch with the circular corner and the porte-cochere were added. After F.A. Sebring’s new home was completed, his nephew Charles L. Sebring purchased the home after his marriage to Jesse Morgan. Charles moved after his wife, Jesse, died during the birth of their child Evelyn in 1906. In later years, Howard Pinkerton resided in this home, which has since been torn down.
This beautiful carriage house was shared by Oliver H. Sebring and Frank A. Sebring. Located behind the W.L. Murphy residence, between North Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets and West Ohio and Oregon Avenues, the grandeur and style of the carriage house was in line with the lovely homes built by the families.
The residence of Mr. and Mrs. William L. Murphy is shown in this c. 1908 postcard. Annie Murphy was the daughter of Oliver H. Sebring and was instrumental in the development of the Sebring Campground meetings. She was the writer of the popular hymn “Constantly Abiding,” which is still published in church hymnals throughout the world. In the late 1930s, she moved to Burbank, California, where her sisters Pearl Taylor, Hazel Cliff, and Wilda Sebring lived. Annie died in March 1942. Will Murphy, who died in the early 1930s, was head cashier of the Citizens Banking Company, founded by his father-in-law, and was also involved in various aspects of the pottery business. They were the parents of one child, who was adopted. His name was Edwin T. Murphy, and he died in 1968.
Perhaps the greatest house transformation in Sebring’s history is the W.L. Murphy home. Pictured as it looks today, the home was enlarged and remodeled probably in the 1920s and is currently owned by Henry DeMuth. Other owners of the home have included the Marlin Watkins family and the Paul Schreckengost family.
A warm fireplace and a cup of hot cocoa would have been appropriate on this snowy day in the 1940s. The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Y.( Hazel Sebring) Cliff is located at the northwest corner of North Eighteenth Street and West Ohio Avenue. Hazel was the daughter of Oliver H. Sebring. Mr. Cliff was manager of the Saxon China Company. The home was purchased by John B. Briggs, a founder of Royal China Incorporated.
The John Palermo residence, on the southeast corner of West Ohio and North Seventeenth Street, was built on the site of the O.H. Sebring home. Constructed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Sebring Construction Company was owned by Mr. Palermo. In 1941, he purchased the land on West Ohio Avenue, between North Eighteenth and North Nineteenth Streets, where the former E.H. Sebring residence stood. After the demolition of E.H. Sebring’s home, Palermo laid out the property into lots for construction of smaller homes.
The Frank A. Sebring residence is the last of the Sebring family’s pillared mansions on West Ohio Avenue. Designed by Rawsthorne of Pittsburgh, the home was built of Italian glazed bricks and was completed in 1902. Frank was the founder of the Sebring Pottery Company and the Limoges China Company. He was also associated with the Salem China Company, The Owen China Company of Minerva, and the Bradshaw Company of Niles. He moved the Niles plant to Alliance and operated it under the name Leigh Pottery Company. Mr. Sebring was very active in the development of Sebring. Through his involvement with the F.A. Sebring Realty Company and the West End Realty Company, hundreds of houses were built in the community. Mr. Sebring died on November 23, 1936.
Through the efforts of Mrs. J. Lynne Biery, the grandeur of Frank A. Sebring’s home will come alive again and will be preserved for future generations. In 1999, the home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will undergo major restoration to create a country inn. The ballroom on the top floor will be restored, the gardens will come alive again for the enjoyment of guests, and the flavor of Sebring’s historic past will live on for decades to come.
This aerial view from the Sebring Lumber Company’s water tower is looking north toward the residential area. The first street running horizontally is Pennsylvania Avenue, the second is Oregon Avenue, and the street running vertically is North Sixteenth Street. Some buildings of note are the First United Presbyterian Church (toward the back on the left) and the back of Mr. and Mrs. George E. Sebring Sr.’s home at North Sixteenth Street and West Ohio Avenue.
William L. Murphy and Reverend H.C. Morrison stroll down West Ohio Avenue on September 4, 1902. The photograph was taken by Charles J. Albright, who was married to Emma Sebring, Mrs. Murphy’s aunt. The homes in the background are the Will Sebring residence and George E. Sebring Jr. residence.
Mrs. Will H. (Eva Huston) Sebring and her children, Earl E. and Virginia, stop the buggy in the driveway of their residence long enough to have this picture snapped in 1907. Mrs. Sebring’s late husband, Will, was treasurer of the Sebring Pottery Company, Limoges China Company, and the Sebring Land Company. His death occurred on Friday, December 9, 1904. According to an article in the Sebring News, “he (Will) was walking across the railroad tracks when he was struck by the No. 15, a west bound express that was going approximately 70 miles per hour. Due to a hearing impairment, Mr. Sebring misjudged the distance of the train. Soon after the accident, George Windle’s attention was attracted by the groans of someone by the mail catching apparatus. Sebring was removed to the Katzenstein Block, and Dr. Jones and Dr. Klingensmith of Sebring, and Dr. Tressell of Alliance were summoned. After examination, they found that the lower part of his back had been crushed and broken, concluding that death was inevitable. Mr. Sebring regained consciousness, recognizing those about him and remained so up to within a half-hour of his demise. He gave no expression as to the manner of the accident but told them he was about to die and that he had ‘poor luck.’ ”
This postcard view looks toward the northwest from the lumber company’s water tower. At this time, the residential area ended around North Eighteenth Street. E.H. Sebring’s residence was just to the west of what is now North Eighteenth Street and West Ohio Avenue.
Shown here is the James and Emma (Sebring) Barclay residence at 295 Ohio Avenue. Mrs. Barclay was the daughter of George and Elizabeth Larkins Sebring Sr. Her first husband, Charles Albright, along with three other prominent citizens, was killed in October 1910, when their car was struck by a streetcar at Naylor’s Crossing. Albright was manager of the Limoges China Company and was one of the incorporators of the Carrollton Pottery Com
pany.
This photo postcard depicts the newly constructed E.H. Sebring residence. In the distance are Frank A. Sebring, William L Murphy, and Oliver H. Sebring homes. Tile roofs, pillars, glazed bricks, as well as leaded and stained glass were all significant components of the Sebring mansions.
The residence of Earl J.Taylor, at 235 West Ohio Avenue, is represented in this photograph.
Ellsworth H. Sebring was the last survivor of the eight Sebring Brothers. He was one of the founders of the Sebring Pottery Company in East Liverpool, Ohio. In 1895, Ellsworth and his brother Oliver organized the French China Company in East Liverpool. In 1901, E.H. Sebring moved to Sebring with his family, and in 1911, he purchased the Oliver China Company and renamed it The E.H. Sebring China Company, which he operated successfully until the Depression forced it to close in 1931. Mr. Sebring moved to Sebring, Florida, where he grew citrus fruit. His home was designed by architect Jacob Myers. This view shows the east side of the home with its large stained-glass window, which extended from the middle of the first floor to the top of the second floor. Though the prevailing custom in the early part of this century was to lock up parlors and living rooms, using them only for special occasions, Mr. and Mrs. E.H. Sebring and their seven children chose to “live” in their home. Informality was the keynote in the daily life of this family. Boiled shirts and rustling party dresses seldom made their appearance here, but children with shirt-tails hanging out and rumpled hair might have been seen frequently running through the halls in a playful game of hide-and-seek.
After Ellsworth’s death on February 1, 1937, Youngstown Home Savings and Loan held the mortgage on the mansion, which served as a rooming house for two years. On July 31, 1940, the county sold it for taxes at auction to James Palermo. Occupying 350-foot frontage on Oregon and Ohio Avenues, the house stood on two-thirds of a city block. Mr. Palermo’s plan to divide the property into lots was underway.
Stripped of its former glory, E.H. Sebring’s home fell prey to the wrecking ball in the fall of 1940, rapidly becoming a phantom of its once stately self. Crumbling before the strokes of the demolition crews, the manse, whose halls once echoed with the laughter of many children (now skeleton-like in this photograph), served as a playground for sparrows. Built during an architectural transition period, the home’s eclectic style was common for the period. One Sebring family member said, “It was a glorious pile of gingerbread.” Oak, maple, mahogany, and a variety of other expensive woods were used in the construction of the interior, while expansive oriental rugs covered its polished floors. The stone alone in the building cost $6,500.
The Wilbur and Elizabeth Dimit residence at 506 West Ohio Avenue is shown here as it appeared in the 1980s. Mr. Dimit and his brothers operated Dimit Brothers Photography Studio in Alliance. Many memories of school and home were captured on a Dimit camera for nearly 60 years. Mr. Dimit was also a member of the Sebring Board of Education.
As the pottery industry grew in Sebring, so did its neighborhoods. Pleasant Heights was one such area that the Sebrings planned in the early years. Located south of the potteries on South Fifteenth Street and the adjoining streets, this postcard view shows the area looking north down South Fifteenth Street. On the right is St. Anne’s Catholic Church. This hand-colored photograph was taken during one of the Harvest Home Festivals. In the far distance, the streamers wind across North Fifteenth Street. That is probably why the neighborhood is deserted.
A dusty West Indiana Avenue is the focus of this 1907 postcard published by Heacock and Bortz of Sebring. Printed in Quarto-Chrome, the two photographs on this page were made in Germany. Taken at the intersection of North Fifteenth Street, the Methodist Episcopal Church can be seen on the right. The street eventually became brick (unfortunately it has been paved over in recent years), and the trees lining the neighborhood provided cool shade on hot summer days.
Like the picture at top, this postcard view of West Maryland Avenue from North Fifteenth Street was taken on a breezy summer afternoon. Notice the strong southern breeze against the mighty oaks. The home that was eventually built on the empty lot, on the southwest corner, was the home of Pearl and Ed Coleman. Robert and Margaret Franke resided there for many years, and today, it is the Christiani dental office.
Clyde Oliver and friends pose on the front porch of his home on West Oregon Avenue. He was the proprietor of a grocery store on North Fifteenth Street for many years.
This home stands on the northwest corner of West Maryland Avenue and North Fifteenth Street. It is significant in the community’s history because it was the home of Dick Albright, Sebring’s first postmaster. Pictured are Ruth Norris Robinson (sitting on the lawn), Bill Norris, and Frank N. Norris. This picture was taken about 1906.
Six
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMUNITY AND COUNTRY
The necessity for a post office in Sebring can be traced back to its founding, when the original location was in a small frame structure on North Fifteenth Street and the first postmaster was Dick Albright. Around 1930, the United States Postal Service promised the community a federal building; however, do to the Depression, nearly four years passed before it became a reality. Land was purchased on the northeast corner of W. Ohio Avenue and North Sixteenth Street, and on Armistice Day, November 11, 1934, the cornerstone laying ceremonies were conducted by the Grand Lodge of Ohio, F. & A.M. In 1930, Samuel Eardley was appointed postmaster, and in 1923, Paul Linke was appointed assistant postmaster. It was during their term that this building was constructed.
By 1909, the small frame structure on North Fifteenth Street became inadequate because the community of Sebring was growing at such a fast rate. Space was made available in the Mahoning Block, on the northeast corner of East Ohio Avenue and North Fifteenth Street, where Attorney Richard Ross’s office is located today. Pictured in this 1912 photograph, left to right, are as follows: Ella Larkins Surls; Bess Daniels Lytle; William Larkins, assistant postmaster; Henry Larkins, postmaster; Bert Elliot; William Paxson; and William Norris, mail carriers. Mr. Paxson and Mr. Norris were the first mail carriers in Sebring and were appointed to the position on March 1, 1912.
Three months after Sebring was established, total receipts for the post office were $26.61. This included stamps, newspaper wrappers, envelopes, postal cards, and one special delivery stamp. By the end of 1901, sales increased to $1,010.98. Large shipments of parcel post by the local potteries soon outdated the new location in the Mahoning Block because it was virtually impossible to handle the packages in such a small area. Pictured above is an example of the number of parcels leaving Sebring. As stated on the picture, this wagon load is waiting for the No. 629 train on January 21, 1919.
The present post office building is shown here as it appeared in the late 1940s. A significant event occurred on July 1, 1949, when the local post office was advanced from a second class to a first class post office.
Members of the Sebring Village Council pose in council chambers in the building adjacent to the village hall on November 11, 1966. Pictured are, left to right, as follows: Joe Mills, Ray Elliot, John Fahnert, Helen Erb, Mayor Joseph Harp, James Burch, Frank Buehler, and Joseph Ludwig.
Shown here is the village hall as it appeared on November 19, 1941. Built in 1901, the structure was originally designed to have a tower on the east portion; however, alterations were made to the architect’s design.
In 1976, it was determined by the officials of the community that the village hall was not efficient for the size of Sebring. The council chambers were in the adjoining building, and the water department offices were housed in another area. It was felt that the consolidation of all departments and the police station was the best solution. The three buildings pictured were all occupied by the village, and their demolition began soon after this picture was taken.
Demolition of the old village hall was well underway in this 1976 snapshot.
A pile of bricks and wood on an empty lot were all that remained of the building that served its community for 75 years. In 19
77, the new municipal hall was constructed with suitable offices for the village’s officials, a council chamber, as well as police headquarters. One symbol remains from the past. The town pump is still located in front of the current building, but according to water department officials, it is not hooked up.
Sebring, Ohio Page 5
