The Historic Hunt House, Blue Ash, Ohio

Built in 1861 the Hunt House originally sat on 1,000 acres of land. The house is a transitional federal/Greek revival design which was unusual for this area at that time. The lumber used was either clear white pine or black walnut. The doors of black walnut had a cross pattern paneling. Most of the glass in the 12-pane windows is original. The windows were the first in the countryside to utilize iron weights, and people came from all around to work the windows. Brick for the building came from clay on the farm, and huge, old trees on the property provided the lumber. It is believed that John Craig Hunt was a merchant and businessman. Later Hunt generations used the land to farm and make their living.

An interesting historic note regarding the Hunt Home relates to the fact that it was a part of the historic Morgan’s Raid associated with the Civil War. In 1863, the home (and nearby barn), along with others in Blue Ash, was raided by Confederate General John Hunt Morgan. In the early morning hours of July 14, 1863, the Hunt Family lost some of their horses to Morgan’s troops who were foraging for food and fresh horses. When Morgan’s Raiders came through Hamilton County, young Wilson Hunt, about 10 years old, was standing in an upstairs window of the house and watched as the raiders took horses from the Hunt barn.

According to family stories, Wilson asked his father what he was going to do about it. “There’s not much that I can do. You can’t stop an army,” responded John Craig Hunt. The Hunts lost 10 horses to the raiders during that infamous raid. Morgan’s Raid was historically significant since it was the longest raid of the Civil War period and it also represented the raid which came the farthest north in the country by Confederate forces.

GPS Location: 39º13’46.9″N 84º23’26.8″W