225 Oxford Road - Will G Anderson Home

William (“Will”) G. Anderson, the youngest child of L.G. Anderson, one time owner of much of the West Side, built his dream house here in 1913. FAHS has a photo of the house still under construction standing amid the waters of the that year’s great March flood. The house is built in an eclectic combination of Spanish Revival and bungalow styles. The first style is presented in the clay tile roof (said to weigh 18 tons) and masonry surface. The open porch, façade, and roof dormer are of the latter style. Other design elements include a Jerkin head roof on a gable end, imbricated siding in the dormers, and a second floor stained glass transom on the north side of the house. The balustraded porch is pedimented and has Doric order columns, giving it a classical flavor, and the transom and sidelights of the doorway, a Federal style touch.

Will Anderson, who was born at 49 Miami Avenue, continued to live at that address until well into middle age, in order to keep his widowed mother company in that big house. The 1900 and 1910 census show Will, his wife Avis, their two children, and Will’s’ mother Jane, living at 49 Miami. When Jane died in 1911, Will had his new home built here. Anderson spent his life working in the family business, the L. G. Anderson Lumber Company of Franklin. After Will’s death, his widow and daughter, Mary Jane Carey, lived here for many years. The house still looks very much like it did when it was built, and according to the 1979 Ohio Historical Society survey, is a masterful piece of craftsmanship.