DOTY HOMESTEAD

In 1810, William Pack bought a tract of land north of Oxford, Ohio from the trustees of Miami University.

He sold the land and then that owner sold it in 1832 to Joseph Morris who built this house using brick made from clay dug and baked on the site. Morris lost the farm during a depression that began in 1837, creditors then sold it to Samuel Doty in 1844. The Dotys were part of a small community of Campbellites, better known as Disciples of Christ, that settled in the area.

This “bank barn” is of 1840’s vintage but was relocated from its original site near Trotwood, Ohio to the Pioneer Farm as a replacement for the Doty Barn which burned in 1980. It is interesting to note that the barn is facing to the west. A real farmer would likely have faced the barn south so as to give the warmest exposure to the overhang and stall doors.

The museum’s original collection of displayed tools and implements were lost in the 1980 fire and replacements had to be found. Seen here is a McCormick Reaper. RMB