Riverside Drive from Washington Street to the Pioneer Mill contains some of the most historic, interesting, and attractive places in Tiffin.
Part of a brewery is located at 140 Riverside Drive. Supposedly, there were tunnels under the road to the river which were used to transfer beer from the brewery to the bottling works beside the river.
The Malt Building, 164 Riverside Drive has been considered as the second oldest commercial building in Tiffin. The original brewery, built in 1853 and now home of Boroff Publication Services, Inc., included Tiffin Scenic Studios and the Clair Forest Building.
The brewery made its own barrels and is purported to be the location of the first local fair called a “Farm Review”. The Kuebler House at 194 Riverside Drive, which was built in 1886, is still the homeplace for Joan and Mary Frances Kuebler.
The Hunter House at 208 Riverside Drive was built in 1895. This beautiful turreted brick is now owned by Jeffrey and Susan King. The building housing the Gallery Antiques at 215 Riverside Drive was a distillery in 1886 and was capable of making 70 gallons of whiskey a day. It was later used as a tannery.
The Hedges-Hunter-Bacon House, 260 Riverside Drive, built in 1822, is thought to be the oldest residence still standing in Tiffin. The Pioneer Mill, across the street at 255 Riverside Drive was built in 1822, burned during the Civil War, and was rebuilt on the same foundation. It was used as a grist mill until 1950. Hunter Street, now running from East Market Street to Riverside Drive, was a ravine to the river.
The lower part of the ravine served as a pathway for those going to and from the river. This open area was later incorporated into the city as the Hunter Addition.
I understand that it was the site of the Fairgrounds. According to the Kuebler sisters, at one time, 70,000 people gathered there to hear Stephen A. Douglas. Joseph Kuebler (1852-1935) purchased three acres of the above property from Clorinda Hedges Hunter for $900 and built his beautiful home overlooking the Scenic Sandusky River in 1886. At that time it was at the eastern edge of the city limits. Here he and his first wife had nine children.
His second wife was Mary Elizabeth Ehrbar Kuebler and they had three children including Joan and Mary Frances. It must have been exciting times for all the neighborhood families since two breweries, one distillery, and the Pioneer Mill were close by.
Across the river from the Pioneer Mill was a water-powered sawmill and down the river was another grist mill near the present Huss Street Bridge. Several sawmills in the Tiffin area provided excellent sources of lumber.
The Kuebler home contains several rooms of natural finished woodwork. One room is oak, another cherry, and a third, what is thought to be sycamore. The stairway to the second floor is beautifully finished cherry.
Joseph planted two American Chestnut trees on the Hunter Street side of his house in 1887 or 1888. These two trees started dying about 1920. As was true of most American Chestnut trees they finished dying in the 1930’s. About 1940 an offspring from the roots or some other source came up at the northern corner of their property on Riverside Drive.
Next time, I will describe the significance of the American Chestnut, Castanea dentata, and some experimentation with the rare Kuebler tree.
– Percy L. Lilly