Betts House in Cincinnati, OH

Betts House in Cincinnati, Ohio is Ohio's oldest brick house. It was built in 1804 and is now the Betts House Research Center. The facility is dedicated to studying building traditions and building materials.

The house was originally built on a 111-acre working farm by William Betts. William Betts  was born in Rahway, New Jersey, but moved out west in 1795. He settled in Brownsville, Pennsylvania for a brief time but soon moved with his family to the newly founded Cincinnati, Ohio in 1800.

Betts was a successful brick maker. He got his land as a repayment of a debt and immediately started building his two-story farmhouse. It was finished in 1804 around the time that his ninth son was born.

As the years went by, additions were put on to the house. An early kitchen was added, but was destroyed in an 1811 earthquake. The main house was not damaged. Four generations of Bett's descendents lived in the house.

Cincinnati grew and by 1855 became the city with the highest density in America. By the 1870s industry began to leave and the area began to decline. By 1968 the area only had 1200 residents, some of them among the poorest in America.

Revitalization efforts began in 1980. In 1988 William Bett's great-great-granddaughter started a partnership to renovate and preserve the Betts House.

The Betts House is currently owned by the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Ohio. The Society leases the house to the Betts House Research Center. Tours of the facility are available by appointment. Call 513-651-0734 for more information.