Jyurovat Farm (113-27): Cultural Landscape Inventory, Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

The National Register boundary of the Jyurovat farmstead consists of approximately three acres of property containing a house, barn, chicken coop, garage, and shed near Peninsula, Ohio. A component landscape of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the site historically served as a residence and farmstead for its owners. According to an interview with descendent Genevieve Jyurovat, the house was constructed in the 1920s and moved to its current location around 1928. Tax records from the Summit County Auditor Division list the house as "built about 1933." Whether the house was newly constructed on-site or relocated, it did not appear on the property until the late 1920s or early 1930s. It is most likely that the outbuildings were already on the property when the house was erected. The outbuildings date from the 1920s and were purchased from the Jamesway Manufacturing Company. The period of significance for the Jyurovat Farm landscape begins in 1920, the approximate date of construction of the outbuildings, and extends until 1944; presumably this end date is to comply with the National Register (NR) requirement that fifty years must pass between the end of the period of significance and the NR nomination (1994). Thus, the period of significance may be subject to reevaluation, since the Jyurovat family continued to live and farm on the property until 1991. The farm had been sold to the National Park Service (NPS) several years earlier, in 1978, for the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is a representative example of the "gentleman's farm" tradition, one maintained for pleasure rather than necessity; it also demonstrates the use of scientific agricultural principles for improving practices in small-scale commercial farming. In addition to agriculture, the landscape is significant for its architectural associations, with the house displaying elements of the Craftsman and Bungalow building styles. The property is unique in the valley for its utilization of the Jamesway outbuildings. Such structures were an example of the greater emphasis being placed on sanitation, ventilation, and building efficiency as a means to increase yields. Using Jamesway plans in construction was a way to achieve lower cost, greater accuracy, fairness to builders and owners, durability, and convenience. The property is representative of the development of farms in the valley, associated with changes in transportation, population, industry, and agricultural technique. According to interviews, the western portion of the Jyurovat property was historically used as cropland and the southern part of the property provided pasture for livestock. The landscaping on the property consists of Japanese Cedars that form a rough tree line along the east end of the driveway (circa 1955) and a planted forest of white pine. Some modern amendments have been made to improve the facilities for use, parts of the property are overgrown, and several structures are in advanced stages of decline. Still, the farm retains a great deal of integrity, continuing to appear much as it did during the historic period and maintaining the structures and features that help convey its identity as an agricultural property in the Cuyahoga Valley. The Jyurovat Farm is currently used by two universities as a research station called the Woodlake Environmental Field Station, where field exercises are conducted in the surrounding landscape.

Jyurovat Farm (113-27): Cultural Landscape Inventory, Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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