April 15, 2025 Update

Main Street Wadsworth Awarded America 250-Ohio Communities Grant for Storytelling and Education Programs

In the lead up to America’s 250th anniversary, Wadsworth announced today it received a grant from the America 250-Ohio Commission for its upcoming project titled, Main Street Wadsworth Historical Plaques Program in Honor of the National Register of Historic Places.

In total, grants of up to $5,000 each to 57 organizations across the state of Ohio, for a total of
$278,834. These grants are dedicated to funding programs and initiatives commemorating
Ohio’s important contribution to American history. The grants are administered by Ohio
Humanities.

In order to qualify for the grants, applicants needed to either be designated an official “America 250-Ohio Community,” and/or have a letter of support from that local government entity. These community-focused grants are aimed at helping local communities plan, organize and implement a program or event that aligns with America 250-Ohio initiatives in two broad categories: Storytelling and Education (Next Generation Citizens).

“On behalf of the America 250-Ohio commission, we congratulate Main Street Wadsworth on this grant award for their rich contributions to Ohio’s history and significance in our nation,” said Doug Preisse, co chair of the America 250-Ohio Commission. “This new round of grants will help Wadsworth to discover new and exciting ways to celebrate our state’s role within the founding of our country.”

To learn more about the America 250-Ohio Commission’s grants program visit America250-Ohio.org/grants/. The America 250-Ohio Communities grant program is supported in part by Neighborhood Strategies.

November 13, 2024 Update

On November 13, Main Street Wadsworth hosted a workshop regarding the Tax Incentives associated with the National Register of Historic Places. You can watch a recording from our Friends at Wadsworth Community Television using the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI81Wy0-0Cc

October 21, 2024 Update

The Downtown Wadsworth Historic District is among Ohio’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. This prestigious designation highlights the rich historical and cultural significance of Wadsworth’s downtown area, marking a significant milestone for the community.

Downtown Wadsworth’s journey to join the National Register began nearly 6 years ago. Starting in 2018, the Main Street Wadsworth organization established the nomination as an aspiring goal. In 2019, Main Street Wadsworth successfully completed the required “Preliminary Questionnaire” that documented properties in the downtown district. In 2021, Main Street Wadsworth launched a fundraising campaign to raise the funds for this initiative and ended the campaign early due to the Wadsworth community fully funding the project ahead of schedule. 

Architect and former Main Street Wadsworth Board Member Emily Little led the Main Street Wadsworth Design Team’s effort to apply for the National Register nomination starting in 2018. Little received Heritage Ohio’s Young Preservationist of the Year Award in 2020 and currently serves on the City of Wadsworth’s Architectural Design Committee (ADC) that reviews changes to downtown buildings. 

“It is an honor for Downtown Wadsworth to be added to the National Register of Historic Places! Although the National Register of Historic Places is often misunderstood, this label simply indicates that the historic structures in the downtown district have significantly contributed to our shared history. The designation as a historic district means that Downtown Wadsworth is important not because of an individual building here or there, but because of how the collection of structures behave as pieces of a whole. This recognition on the National Register of Historic Places will allow building owners to apply for grants and other government funding that can help care for our aging structures. These financial incentives provide opportunities to preserve the legacy of our past while also fostering growth and development in a way that is successful and long-lasting.”

The community and stakeholders learned of downtown Wadsworth’s history and the National Register of Historic Places nomination during a public meeting held at Wadsworth City Hall in 2023. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) then sent Wadsworth’s consultant, Perspectus Architecture, written comments summarizing the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board (OHSPAB) comments. Perspectus Architecture followed this by making the required corrections, and then SHPO finalized the draft and sent it to the National Park Service (NPS) for review and formal listing. 

Local Historians, Roger Havens and the late Dr. Caesar Carrino were invaluable to the process.

In correspondences prior to his passing, Dr. Carrino exclaimed, “As one of the longest lived life-long residents of Wadsworth, I feel a very special relationship with this beautiful town. When Wadsworth is honored with the National Register of Historic Places designation, my own sense of pride will swell. Congratulations to my always and forever hometown of Wadsworth, Ohio!”

During the week of August 19 through August 23, 2024, the District was formally listed as a resubmission. The scope of the District is roughly bounded by 101 – 161 and 102 – 146 High, 117 – 129 Broad, 111 – 273, 102 – 156 and 246 – 258 Main, 188 South Lyman, 105 Garfield, and 107 – 155 and 112 – 116 College Sts., and 110 – 122 Watrusa Ave.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for our community,” said Megan Harvey, Executive Director of Main Street Wadsworth. “Being listed on the National Register of Historic Places is a testament to the hard work and dedication of those who have preserved our historic sites to ensure that future generations can appreciate and enjoy the beauty of downtown Wadsworth’s past and build upon its future.”

Tom Morris, Director of Economic Development for the City of Wadsworth included, “I appreciate the National Park Service recognizing something formally that we have known for years, that Wadsworth’s downtown is not only a driver of economic growth for the future, but is also a historical treasure that needs to be preserved. While often the concepts of growth and historical conservation are at odds, programs made available under the City’s downtowns classification as a historic district allow business to continue to invest in our downtown without detracting from its’ historical significance. There really is no downside for the city.”

Now that Wadsworth has its Downtown Historic District designation, Main Street Wadsworth staff and committee members will work with the City of Wadsworth to produce and place appropriate signage that welcomes visitors to the district. An official ribbon cutting of the signage will be announced at a later date. 

The City of Wadsworth has launched a website dedicated to providing resources for downtown business and building owners with historic buildings. This page will be regularly updated as new information becomes available. The website can be found at:

https://www.wadsworthcity.com/1005/Downtown-Wadsworth-Historic-District

Main Street Wadsworth in collaboration with Perspectus Architecture will also host an informational meeting for business owners and community members to make them aware of tax incentives and other potential funding for their buildings in terms of preservation. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at Wadsworth City Hall – 120 Maple Street, Wadsworth OH 44281.

A complete National Register of Historic Places Registration Form submitted by Perspectus as a resubmission to the process can be found below:

March 17, 2023 Update

UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN WADSWORTH JOINING THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Good news, Wadsworth! Today, Friday, March 17, 2023, members of the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board (OHSPAB) discussed the draft of the National Register Nomination for the Wadsworth Downtown Historic District and took a roll call vote for acceptance of the nomination–each member was “in favor” and none “opposed.” Listing in the National Register of Historic Places honors downtown Wadsworth’s story as embodied in its historic brick and frame buildings dating to the mid-1800s and leverages Wadsworth’s industrial and commercial history to support reinvestment in the core of Wadsworth. Once listed, the contributing resources within the district boundaries will be eligible for federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

The next steps are the following:

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will send Wadsworth’s consultant, Perspectus Architecture, written comments summarizing the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board (OHSPAB) comments, Perspectus Architecture will make the required corrections, and then SHPO will finalize the draft before they send it to the National Park Service (NPS) for review and formal listing.

The final action that will complete this entire years-long process will be when the National Park Service (NPS) will list the Wadsworth Downtown Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places. A definitive date cannot yet be provided, but formal listing will likely occur during the summer of 2023.

Thank you to our generous donors of Downtown Wadsworth’s National Register of Historic Places Nomination who have made this important project possible:

Ohio Pipeline Grant Initiative
Akron Community Foundation
ACF Center for Family Philanthropy
Max and Diane Miller
97.1 FM Wadsworth Community Radio
Berger Insurance Agency
O’Neill Insurance
Dr. Caesar and Lynda Carrino
Representative Sharon Ray
Janet Johnston
Sherry Sigmond
Stacey Renner
Mayor Robin Laubaugh
Tom Stugmyer
Emily Little
Rod Loveless
Ayten Anderson
Jason and Amy Sanders
Judge Stephen and Sarah McIlvaine
Elaine Walker
Robert and Adrianne Patrick
Stephen and Mary Krauss
Randy and Jody Toddy
Gemma Properties
Bob and Kim Thurber
Ralph Copley
Kathy Ott
Kristin Cole
Dr. Bruce and Joanne Manning
Rhonda Johnson
Felicity Wilson
Christa Schmidt
Crossfit Legacy
James and Karen Wilson
Kay Bowman
William Warner
Connie Krauss
Joe Sebe
James and Gail Doerr
Johanna Perrino
Adam Barton
Dr. Gary and Gladys Barnard
Roger Havens
Wadsworth Area Historical Society
Kelly Graham, State Farm Insurance
Stephanie Mayercik
Jim and Sally Little

Learn More: https://mainstreetwadsworth.org/national-register-of-historic-places/

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm

January 31, 2023 Update

A public meeting was held at Wadsworth City Hall (120 Maple Street, Wadsworth, OH 44281) on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 12:00-3:00 p.m. to provide the Wadsworth community and stakeholders with an overview of our downtown’s history, the National Register of Historic Places nomination process, and to answer questions. The presenters were representatives from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Perspectus Architecture, both introduced by Main Street Wadsworth Design Chair Emily Davis. The presentation was filmed by WCTV and is available for viewing online by clicking the link below:

https://my.viebit.com/player.php?hash=H3HOPLqUev8R

Speaker Bios

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Public Notice

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Thank you, Wadsworth!

Our project to add downtown Wadsworth to the National Register of Historic Places has been fully funded ahead of schedule thanks to your support.

Learn all about the National Register of Historic Places by clicking here.

Timeline:

2018: Main Street Wadsworth begins National Register process.

2019: Main Street Wadsworth successfully completes required Preliminary Questionnaire that documents contributing and non-contributing properties in the downtown district; submitted to the State of Ohio. Approved by the State.

2020-2021: Main Street Wadsworth applied for and received the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Pipeline Grant (up to $12,000), but only has one year to use it.

2021: The Akron Community Foundation has an anonymous donor come forward to donate $5,000 toward this effort with a challenge: if the Wadsworth community can raise $10,000 toward this project, the Akron Community Foundation will donate an addition $5,000 for a $10,000 total match. This challenge runs October 1-15, 2021.

2021-2022: Main Street Wadsworth’s goal is to complete the nomination process and place downtown Wadsworth on the National Register of Historic Places by the end of 2022.

October 2021: Main Street Wadsworth’s supporters fully fund the National Register project with days left to go in the campaign!

All donors will be listed on the Main Street Wadsworth website, social media, annual report, and newsletter.