Friday, September 17, 1999
'Beautiful Valley' shows off beautiful homes
Wyoming celebrating its 125th
BY DOUG TRAPP
Enquirer Contributor
WYOMING — Village boosters are showing off one of the city's most valuable treasures — its architecture.
To celebrate the village's 125th anniversary, the Wyoming Parents Schools Association (WPSA) and the Wyoming Historical Society are offering the Ninth Wyoming Historic House Tour on Sept. 26. The tour covers eight homes, seven of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each of the eight houses existed when Wyoming became a village in 1874, said Jenni McCauley, co-chair of the tour.
Back then, only 23 years after the railroad reached the area, the community was a suburb in the woods.
But in 1851 the railroad turned an eight-hour canal trip from Cincinnati to Wyoming into a 30-minute train ride, making the village practical, Ms. McCauley said.
Over the years, most of the homes have been renovated somewhat by adding larger porches and nonwood exteriors, among other changes.
However, all of the homes have been well-maintained since they were built, Ms. McCauley said.
“That's rare,” she said. “It's kind of a treasure to have that.”
Most of the homes are Italianate or Gothic Revival, early styles of Victorian architecture featuring gabled roofs and tall, arched windows, for example.
The tour includes the former home of Col. Robert Reily, the man credited with naming Wyoming.
As the story goes, Col. Reily held a community meeting at his home in 1861 to discuss incorporating a village, and suggested the name Wyoming — an American Indian word meaning “beautiful valley” — as the name for the new village.
However, Col. Reily died in the Civil War in 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia, 11 years before the idea became a reality.
The eight homes are just the tip of Wyoming's historic treasure trove: A 300-home section of the village was named a National Historic District in 1985.
Other 125th anniversary events include a five-kilometer (3.1-mile) walk and run on Sept. 25 and a Civil War re-enactment Oct. 2.
Proceeds from the tour of the homes will benefit the Parents Schools Association and the Historical Society.
IF YOU GO
• What: Ninth Wyoming Historic House Tour.
• Where: Tour begins at either 129 Wyoming Ave. or 230 Reily Road.
• When: Sept. 26, noon to 6 p.m.
• Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 day of tour, available at Peppercorn Decorating Service, Fancy This, and Patina Home and Garden in Wyoming; Cloud 9 in Hyde Park Square; and Remke Market in Hartwell.
• Information: Doris Marks Callis, 761-1819.
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