Nathaniel Point Farm (114-62, 21): Cultural Landscape Inventory, Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

The Nathaniel Point Farm cultural landscape, an agricultural resource of Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park, is a nearly 110-acre farmstead consisting of a house, barn, shed, wooded areas, and agricultural fields that represents the development of farming within the Cuyahoga region. Currently leased to a farmer through the Cuyahoga Countryside Initiative Program, agricultural use of the landscape continues to play a role in preserving the history and identity of the river valley. The core of the farmstead, consisting of the 3.1 acres that contains the building cluster, was listed on the National Register on August 6, 1999, and the remainder of the landscape was determined eligible for listing on February 6, 2003. The period of significance for the farm landscape spans 1857 to 1939, from the first documented agricultural use through the entire period of Point family ownership. The land was first farmed by David G. Meyers, who then sold it to the Point family; they owned the property until selling it to the Biro family (1939). The Nathaniel Point Farm is locally significant as an example of a Cuyahoga Valley farmstead that developed during the historic period of scientific farming, as well as for demonstrating the architecturally distinct characteristics of the farmstead structures. Farms developed in conjunction with changing population centers, improved transportation, the rise of industry, and advances in agricultural technology. Agricultural activity on the Point Farm reflects wider trends of increasing crop production, greater specialization, and emphasis on dairy. The building styles and construction are generally typical of vernacular architecture in the region at that time. The Point Farm does differ from surrounding farms in several ways; placing the barn across the street is more similar to dairy farms in New York and New England, and the lot is still complete and distinguishable where many others in the valley have been subdivided. Overall, the farm’s architecture, spatial design, and production patterns illustrate the strong influence of heritage and scientific advancement on farming in the Cuyahoga Valley. The farm is accessed by the Akron-Peninsula Road, which bisects the property. The current house was constructed in 1876 and is positioned about 20 feet back from the western side of the road. It is a two-story Queen Anne style tri-gabled structure, featuring a wood-balloon frame and a wraparound porch. The shed and foundation ruins of two other buildings are located west of the house and garage, and the barn is across the street from the house. It is a raised-bank barn, common to farms of the Cuyahoga Valley. Just beyond these buildings lies historic farmland that has succumbed to successional growth. It is possible some of the topsoil was removed and sold after the period of significance, because there is now a pond between the house and the Cuyahoga River. The river formed the original western boundary of the property, but its course has edged farther west over the years. North of the barn, at the property boundary, lies an agricultural field is operated by a lease between a local farmer and the NPS. Land that once contained agricultural fields and pastures, to the east, is now heavily wooded. Much of the landscape retains a high degree of integrity. However, aside from the areas currently being cultivated, some of the agricultural fields are in poor condition: severely overgrown, lacking topsoil, or submerged due to excavation. Despite some changes to the vegetative patterns and landscape features, the cluster arrangement, clear boundary demarcations, views, existing structures, and land use features continue to convey the farm's historic agricultural character.

Nathaniel Point Farm (114-62, 21): Cultural Landscape Inventory, Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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