Sarah J Forgy home

Sarah J. Forgy bought this lot in 1874 and the house was built by 1875, because it appears in the county atlas of that year. The home is in an Italianate/French Second Empire style. Characteristic of the these styles are the asymmetrical floor plan, gabled pavilions, tall windows, the bell cast (concave) Mansard roof (with metal cresting) on the central façade, and the cornice supported by elaborate corbels. The bay window has an incised hood molding. Sarah J. Forgy was the wife of John M. Forgy, partner in Franklin’s Friend and Forgy Franklin Paper Company, a manufacturer of manila and sack flour paper. The 1880 census shows John and Sarah Forgy living here with their two children, and one live-in servant. In 1900. Sarah is there with her grown son and daughter, and in 1910 Sarah is here with her daughter. The Franklin Area Historical Society has a photo of Sarah at the 1907 birthday party for L. G. Anderson’s widow at 49 Miami Avenue. When the Forgys lived here in 1900, its address was 3 Miami Avenue. After Sarah’s death, the house was owned by the Reeves and Cheneys, before being purchased in 1936 by Mary Jane and E. H. Bindley. Mary Jane was the daughter of Howard Cheney, who lived on Park Avenue. Mr. Bindley was the manager of the Cheney Pulp and Paper Company. The current color scheme of earth tones with contrasting trim is very reminiscent of house colors fashionable when the home was new.