Lewis, Dr. A. C., House

The Dr. A.C. Lewis House is significant primarily for its association with an individual who was a leading abolitionist in the community of Winchester during the antebellum years. Dr. Abel Lewis is representative of the persons who participated in the abolitionist movement in southern Ohio. Lewis was a native of New York and studied medicine in Cincinnati. Winchester's first resident physician came to the town in 1835 and practiced there until his death fifty-five years later. Soon after his arrival he became acquainted with the Rev.: John Rankin of Ripley and the Rev. Dyer Burgess of West Union, leaders of the anti-slavery movement in southern Ohio, and soon became active in their cause. During this period Adams and Brown counties were a hotbed of abolitionist activity. The Winchester community was so divided on the issue of slavery that in 1848 the Presbyterian Congregation split, and Dr. Lewis and his family became members of the Free Soil Presbyterian Church. Local tradition has always held that Dr. Lewis's home was a station on the Underground Railroad. Although there is no written documentation of this, it is probable that it was given Lewis's association with Rankin and Burgess and given Winchester's location along the established routes for runaway slaves there in northern Adams County.

The Lewis House derives secondary significance from its architecture. It distinctively illustrates a style of folk or traditional building that was widely used in southern Ohio. The full classical "I" house is characteristic of, housing built in Ohio from the early nineteenth century till after the Civil War. Although the influence of the dominant high style of the era--Greek Revival--is evident, the Lewis House is a prime example of an "I"--one-room depth, two full stories, five-bay facade, and end chimney placement. Other houses of this type appear in the community; however, few retain such a high degree of integrity and none have such a strong historical tie to a locally important figure such as Dr. Lewis.