Check out these historically-rich properties in Athens

STORY & PHOTOS BY DYLAN BENEDICT | DESIGN BY BROOKE GARRETT

If These Walls Could Talk

Athens properties that were once hotels or brothels have a rich history and now serve as rentals.

Did you know that you might be living inside of an old Athens brothel? Or possibly right beside a Native American burial ground? With Athens’ roots stretching all the way back to 1797 when settlers first arrived in Southeastern Ohio, the city is rich with history and so are many of its buildings. Housing rentals all over Athens once served a completely different purpose than they do now and hold secrets unknown to many people who have called them home.

Located at the bottom of the Union Street hill, 103 W Union St. is now the site of student apartments. However, it used to serve as a hotel and brothel right across the street from the old Baltimore and Ohio railroad station. The train station once brought in travelers from all over the place.

“Back in the 1800s when the train station was active, it wasn’t unusual for hotels to also be brothels,” Sandy James, a local property manager for HousingHotlink, says.

James is passionate about history in her free time.

“I’m kind of an Athens history freak,” she says. By looking through a book called Medical History of Athens County, James has uncovered stories about buildings that could have been lost and is able to keep those unique histories alive.

Across the city from the old hotel and brothel sits 128 Franklin Ave., 130 Franklin Ave. and 226 East State St. Along with being located on top of the city’s old shale mine, these properties once belonged to Charles McBee, who invented the bookbinding machine simply known as the binder today.

“[McBee] worked for the railroad as their bookkeeper and needed a way to bind papers together so pages could be flipped through, so he invented the equipment that bound piles of paper,” James says.

The McBee Binder Co. production plant is no longer open in Athens, but for nearly 100 years it served as a provider of jobs and support for the local economy.

Tucked away behind Devil’s Kettle Brewing off Columbus Road is 10 Terrance Dr., which is one of the oldest houses in Athens. According to Ohio Genealogy Express, this property was built in 1806 by Neal (also spelled as Neil) Courtney, an Englishman who came to America after being conscripted in the British Navy to fight in the Revolutionary War. Courtney jumped ship off a port in New York, swam ashore and switched allegiance to the American government.

After the war, Courtney settled in Athens and built his house out of bricks and sandstone he made on the property, which still serve as the foundation of the house today. The Historic Homes of Athens County website says that the house once had a trolly connecting the property directly to Athens and used to sit on the old path of State Route 33. After Courtney’s death, the property fell into disrepair. It wasn’t until Athens natives Raymond Abraham and his brother Paul bought the property in 1970 that the house received a much-needed renovation. Alongside the renovation, Raymond began doing his own research of the Courtney Hill property and put together a history of the property, which is where much of the organized information on Courtney Hill can be found today. “His house was, he kind of made it into a museum,” Tom O’Grady, the director of development and outreach at the Southeast Ohio History Center and director emeritus, says. Raymond hung signed portraits of many famous people in the house and kept many historic items inside. O’Grady says that it was like Raymond’s personal museum. Raymond and Paul Abraham have both died since, and the property now belongs to Capstone Property Management. According to a 2014 submission from Raymond to the Athens County Historical Society, the Courtney Hill property has served as a house, realtor office, a schoolhouse, a supposed hiding place for escaped slaves in the underground railroad and even sits nearby a Native American burial site on the property.

Many historic figures have visited this property, including 15th U.S. President James Buchanan, whose cousin Marinda Buchanan married Neal Courtney’s son or supposed grandson Alanzo (also sometimes referred to as Rufus or Alanson) on the property. Courtney Hill now serves as a possible new home for a local family, but who knows what the future holds for this historically rich rental property. b