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| No: 601 | Street: Wooster | Name: Covalt/Taft/Traber House |
| Family: Yokel | OwnerInfo: N |
| Built: circa 1810 | Sec: 23 | Wooster Pike in Columbia Township | Lot: Irreg R2-T5-523 |
| Architect: | Cont/Build: |
| #Owners: | Orig Use: Residential | Current Use: Residential |
| STYLE | Ranch: | Split: | Colonial: | Victorian: | Trans: | Trad: | Other: |
| CapeC: | Bung: | Eng: | Dutch: | Cont: | Misc: | ||
| CATALOGUE | Sears: | Gunn: | Pease: | BH&G: | Pattern: | OtherC: |
| MATERIAL | Siding: | Brick: | Stone: Y | Stucco: | Br&Sid: Y | OtherM: |
| ROOF: hip | Stories: 2 | |||||
| CHANGES | AsBuilt: | AddTo: | SubFrom: | Replace: |
| CurrOwner: Stephen A. & Linda Yokel | Date Frc: 1986 | DateToc: |
| OrigOwner: John Cleves Symmes (land only) | Date Frm: | DateTo: |
| Owner1: Covalt buys land from Symmes, builds home. | Date Fr 1: 1795 | DateTo 1: |
| Owner2: Judge Alphonso Taft (died 5/21/1891) | Date Fr 2: 1850c | DateTo 2: ? |
| Owner3: Jacob Traber | Date Fr 3: ? | DateTo 3: 1875 |
| Owner4: Harding Family (see story 6) | Date Fr 4: 1875c | DateTo 4: ? |
| Owner5: Gilliland Family (long time prior to 1933c, at least by 1919) (see story 6) | Date Fr 5: | DateTo 5: 1929 |
| Owner6: Harry C. Boone & to Carmen Boone in 1946 | Date Fr 6: 1929 | DateTo 6: 1946 |
| Owner7: William Price Coomer | Date Fr 7: 1946 | DateTo 7: 1949 |
| Owner8: Ms. Mabel T. & Alice B. Culter (1958 just Mabel) | Date Fr 8: 1949 | DateTo 8: 1962 |
| Owner9: Jean & Fletcher Knight (see story 12) | Date Fr 9: 1962 | DateTo 9: 1986 |
| Owner10: | Date Fr 10: | DateTo 10: |
| Owner11: | Date Fr 11: | DateTo 11: |
| 1975 Owner: | H. Fletcher Jr. & Jean G. Knight |
| Description: |
| Story1: | Home built of bricks made on the spot and stones from the abandoned Covalt Station. Soldiers from Fort Washington were stationed in the back stone barracks to protect travelers from the Indians. (Conflicting story with 2) or was it soldiers from Cincinnati's Ft. Hamilton who were stationed to defend the trail from Indians? |
| Story 2: | Built in 1810, this home was originally planned to serve as a defense post and a home, but actually it was never used for defense purposes. The dwelling which stands today (Price Coomer owner) is the result of a remodeling scheme and therefore does not truly represent the original home that bordered the pike when it was only a rough dirt road and when Terrace Park was not even a village. As it stands today, the dwelling is of brick and stone, with a center hall, dining room, breakfast nook, kitchen, library, two bedrooms, bath and a lavatory on the first floor. A section, taking in two additional bedrooms and a bath is on the second floor. (Note with Stan Millers archives.) |
| Story 3 | There is much more information on this house in the Terrace Park archives. |
| Story 4: | "Built in 1810 - partially from stones from the Covalt Station. At first a small detachment of soldiers was stationed there because the Indians did not exactly honor the treaty signed as far back as 1795. This was to protect the increasing tide of white travelers along the Indian Trail which was the favorite war path of the Delawares, Shawnee and Wyandot braves on the road to raid the settlements in Kentucky. This path (now Wooster Pike). They forded the Little Miami at Montauk. It led straight to Columbia over John Smith's property." From a card perhaps written by Stan Miller. It includes some notes in ink in Stan's handwriting. |
| Story 5: | "Jacob & Theodosia Traber owned both sides of
Wooster Pike from Elm to New St. & to the RR. The property from
New St. to the RR underpass & to the hill, where the 1st road is (left
off Wooster Pike before entering the underpass. This hill was the
one that was terraced and planted in vineyards, the old home was at the
top of the hill, and was destroyed by fire. (This property was
bought from Mrs. Gilliland by the Drewrys).
Mrs. Traber & her daughter, Mrs. Gilliland & granddaughter Frances Gilliland lived at the old stone house on Wooster & New St. (after the fire on the hill in 1893). " Information from Lenore McMullin McGee (607 Wooster Pike & 416 Washington St.) Both Jacob Traber (1891) & Mr. Gilliland (1894) had died. |
| Story 6: | The Trabers had at least 3 daughters: Mrs.
Gilliland, Mrs. Peebles & Mrs. Harding.
Hardings in Milford. (This needs revision. 3 daughters may be Florence (m Campbell,) Jane & Alice (m Gilliland). Hardings were Theodosia's family according to 1900 census - or was her maiden name Burns? Theodosia Austin Burns Traber was born in 1839 and died in 1914 according to a memorial at St. Thomas Church. Description of Mrs. Gilliland at the time of her death in the TP Woman's Club archives, written by Blanche B. (Bacon) Meyers & Clare C. Carothers : "In her rare personality she combined a noble dignity of character, a widely cultivated mind, a sympathetic heart and was a loyal friend, a tireless worker for the welfare of others, a delightful hostess, who in the years she had spent among the residents of the Park, had endeared herself to all." |
| Story 7: | ??? Stella Galloway, daughter of J. L. Galloway (725 Wooster Pike) lived here (also at 410 Elm). She married Walter Boone, son of Thomas Boone. |
| Story 8: | Virginia Marquett remembers brothers Harry & Ed Boone living here. A cousin and her husband also lived there to manage the house. Harry Boone owned the barn across the street that had belonged to the McMullens at 607 Wooster Pike. He also had a team of horses. Ed had a riding horse that Virginia often rode after Ed died. After the cousin and her husband were no longer living there, Clarence and Mildred Beekley and daughters, Doris & Ginny (Virginia Ann), moved in. They lived there until Harry Boone died. |
| Story 9: | We have (with house pictures) 3 tax bills from 1899 & 1900 for Jacob Traber Jr. Lot 62 of Camden City. Was this for part of the land at 601 Wooster? |
| Story 10: | There is no substantiated historical documentation that this house was ever used as a station on the Underground Railroad. However, the Knight family took a sledge hammer and broke through a cellar wall to find a small hidden chamber. It was empty but ran from its dirt floor up to the underside of the first floor and was just large enough for a few people to sit down (maybe 4 feet deep and 6-10 feet long). It's on the right hand side of the cellar if you stand looking at the house from Wooster Pike. We do not know its use. (The Knights did not repair the wall.) |
| Story 11: | W. H. Boone was Treasurer of Terrace Park Building and Loan. He was born in Terrace Park, December 2, 1856 and died at home February 21, 1929. This information comes a page in our TP Building & Loan notebook. We don't know whether this is the TP home where he lived or not. |
| Story 12: | Mable T. Culter to Jean G. Knight 8/7/1962; to H. Fletcher Knight Jr. & 8/7/1962; to Terrace Park Charitable Trust (Pat Henley President, Louise Halley Secretary) 2/11/1980; to Jean G. Knight 7/9/1980; to H. Fletcher Knight Jr. & 7/9/1980; to Steven A. & Linda M. Yokel 9/5/1986. |
| 1939 Map: | Boone-Beekley (were the Beekleys renters?) |
| 1942 Map: | Boone-Beekley |
| 1951/3 Map: | Cutler (Mabel Cutler died in 1963) (is it Culter or Cutler?) |
| 1959 Directory: | Mrs. Maude N. Ross (moved from 300 Rugby to 610 Floral and here) (did she rent here?) |
| 1960 Directory: | '' (moved to 210 Rugby which she had built) |
| 1962-63 Direct: | H. Fletcher & Jean Knight |
| 1963-64 Direct: | '' |
| 1965-66 Direct: | '' |
| 1967-68 Direct: | '' |
| 1969-70 Direct: | '' |
| 1971-72 Direct: | '' |
| 1973-74 Direct: | '' |
| 1975-76 Direct: | '' |
| 1978 Directory: | '' |
| 1980 Directory: | " |
| 1982 Directory: | " |
| 1984 Directory: | '' |
| 1986 Directory: | '' |
| 1988 Directory: | Steven & Linda Yokel |
| 1990-91 Direct: | '' |
| 1992-93 Direct: | '' |
| 1994-95 Direct: | '' |
| 1996-97 Direct: | '' |
| 1998-99 Direct: | " |
| 2000-01 Direct: | " |
| 2002-03 Direct: | " |
| 2004-05 Direct: | " |
| 2006-07 Direct: | " |
| 2008-09 Direct: | |
| 2010-11 Direct: |