Beall-Stibbs Homestead

The Beall-Stibbs House was built by General Reasin Beall from 1815 to 1817. It is now the oldest surviving residence in the City of Wooster. After Beall’s death, the home was inhabited by his daughter and her husband, Joseph Stibbs II. The house was later turned into a dormitory for the College of Wooster and a museum. In 2008, the restored Beall-Stibbs Homestead opened to the public as a recreation of life in the 19th century.

Reasin Beall was born on December 3, 1769 in Montgomery County, Maryland. He joined the military in his early twenties and was appointed battalion quartermaster under famed Revolutionary War hero General “Mad” Anthony Wayne by 1793. Beall moved to Ohio in 1801. During the War of 1812, he became a brigadier general of the Ohio militia. From April 20, 1813 to June 7, 1814, Beall filled a vacancy in the U. S. Congress after Representative John S. Edwards died. Beall returned to Ohio, moving to Wooster and building this home, after his term as congressman. He remained politically active by serving as the register of the land offices at Wooster and Canton, Ohio for ten years. Reasin Beall passed away on February 20, 1843. His daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Joseph Stibbs II lived in this house after his death.

The College of Wooster later obtained the property and used it as a dormitory called Bowman Hall. In 1957, the college donated the Beall-Stibbs house to Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio. All collections from the society and the Wooster Museum were moved to the house. Recently, the structure was converted from a museum to a recreation of how the house looked in the 19th century.

Beall-Stibbs Homestead. Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio. Accessed October 02, 2018. http://waynehistoricalohio.org/plan-your-visit/tour-our-sites/beall-stibbs-homestead/. Information and photo source.

General Reasin Beall Homestead. Remarkable Ohio. Accessed October 02, 2018. http://www.remarkableohio.org/index.php?/category/1602.