Avon's Cahoon House will be open to the public soon

AVON — After roughly three years, the Cahoon House will soon be open to the public. One of the oldest homes in Lorain County built by Wilbur and Priscilla Cahoon, the historic Avon landmark is now city-owned and filled with donated artifacts showcasing not only the Cahoon family's history, but the city's history as well. Business consultant Sheri Seroka has worked to organize the donations that have been pouring in from current and former Avon residents, and style each room to reflect life in the mid-1820s. The Cahoons moved from New York to Avon in 1814, trading 100 acres in Upstate New York for 800 in Avon, Seroka said, alongside the promise to build a gristmill and sawmill in the rich farmland along French Creek. "This is really where Avon was born," she said. The Greek Revival home is one of the oldest wood-frame houses left in Lorain County, with the vast majority of its finishings preserved by the host of families to live in the home after the Cahoons. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. "The families that have lived here since the Cahoon family left have all been amazing stewards of the history of the home and keeping it intact and just really honoring what the Cahoons set out to build here," she said. The last family to live there were Dr. Delbert and Jean Fischer, who purchased the home in the mid-1960s and raised their eight children there. Delbert Fischer died in 2007, and Jean lived in the home until about three years ago, when she moved into a senior living community. When it became clear the house would soon be vacant, the city knew it was time to look at purchasing the property, Seroka said. Avon paid about $200,000 for it, Mayor Bryan Jensen said, and the city has the option to purchase another 30-plus acres across the French Creek by the end of the year. "We would like to make it into an arboretum … it's really a neat piece of property," Jensen said. The Cahoon home is an important asset in the city's portfolio, Seroka said; the city plans to open the home to the public for tours and school trips. But throughout the process, it hasn't been completely smooth sailing. There are rumors of a ghost known to slam one of the bedroom doors on Seroka so often the door to one of the bedrooms was taken off its hinges, she said. "I don't know, it could be because the house isn't level and that's what's causing the door (to slam), but it only happened when I would go into the room so we had a little battle of wills there. … Every now and then you just kind of feel the energy shift in the room, but it's never been frightening." The next-door neighbor for the past 35 years swears he's seen the apparition of a girl in that same bedroom window every night, Seroka said, but the rumors didn't deter her from working to get the house to feel like a home again. From the blue velvet dining chairs and couch to photos from the Avon Historical Society and stone and cast iron cookware, every piece in the Cahoon home has a story to tell, she said. Those stories include the home's original deed from 1824 and an organ from the original Holy Trinity Church from 1850. The organ survived a tornado, while the church was destroyed. After cutting a ribbon to officially open the space, Jensen said, "I'm certainly excited to have it get to this point — it took a long time — COVID certainly delayed us, but Sheri did a great job of making all of Avon proud that they can walk through here and show their kids and grandkids just a little piece of Avon." Details on when the home will be open for tours and other events will be posted at cityofavon.com and social media. The Cahoon House is at 2940 Stoney Ridge Road. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.