Taking a trip back in time

When I was a chubby little kid growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, many a Sunday was spent traveling to and through a museum. We saw everything, from T-Rex to a highly polished Bentley and Stan Hewitt Hall.
So, it was with nostalgia that my husband, John, and I drove to the Strock Stone House in Austintown for its "1 to 4 p.m. first Sunday of every month" tour.
As Mahoning Avenue veered down to the Meander Reservoir, we spotted a sign on the left -- 7171 Mahoning Ave.; The Strock Stone House, circa 1831.
The driveway curved through a canopy of green, and blacktop faded away to battered red brick, which we later discovered was the original Mahoning Avenue. A clearing revealed an old barn and a house set on a circular drive.
The largest part of the home is made of wood, but the portion nearest the reservoir is made of sandstone. These rectangular blocks were carted from the nearby Stony Ridge by the original owner William Strock, who bought the surrounding land to farm and raise his family. The blocks are about a foot wide, with some, according to a pamphlet we picked up inside, weighing as much as 750 pounds!
Additions
One enters the house through the large dining room that was added on to the Strock portion around 1890, by the home's fourth owner, a Youngstown judge, William Anderson. Anderson also added a dinette, kitchen, sun porch, summer kitchen, three bedrooms and bath.
Before Anderson made his additions, the home was heated by two fireplaces. The cellar had a hearth, as did the living area. The upstairs was warmed by the living room fireplace, the heat of which traveled up the nearby staircase to the second floor.
These things we discovered from a volunteer who met us in the dining room and took us on a tour of the main floor and cellar. Outside, the thermometer was topping 70 degrees, but inside, it felt like central air conditioning.
"That would be from the stones," our guide said. "They keep it cool in summer and warm in winter."
Wood floors throughout are covered in braided rugs. A beautiful little sunroom looks over a densely wooded hill leading to the reservoir. Shimmering water was visible in places through the overgrowth.
Little of the furniture is original, but much of it is antique, reflecting the various tenants and periods in the home's 173-year existence. It was built by the Strocks, bought by Francis and Mary Henry, then went through three generations of Andersons. After that, the Mahoning County Engineer used the facility, before selling it to the Austintown Historical Society for a dollar, according to our guide.
In the low-ceilinged, concrete-floored cellar, several vintage washers are on display. An old wringer type reminded me of the one my mother kept next to her highly modern Kenmore.
In actual use, the cellar's hand-hewn beams were fitted with hooks used to support animal carcasses and the fireplace was where lard was rendered. It is a foggy bit of the Strock home's history, but it may even have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Rest of the house
Back on the main floor, the guide took us into the breakfast nook, where the built-in cabinets have their original leaded glass, and to the kitchen, which reflects its modern tenants more than its original ones. Off that kitchen is what the guide explained was the "summer kitchen" -- a place to cook and keep the heat from the main living area. Several antique kitchen tools sat along a counter there, some of which, I must admit, I remembered from my youth.
Upstairs, we found five bedrooms and a bathroom with a clawfoot tub.
Whether the Strocks or Andersons ever had anything like the contents of the current museum, every item was interesting. We found a printing press, an old pedal sewing machine, a spinning wheel, quilting form, wash stand, shaving brush, old typewriters and cameras, among other antiques.
We ended with a stroll around the exterior of the barn and a slow drive down the old Mahoning Avenue. The day fit the bill for both history and nostalgia.
murphy@vindy.com