Elmwood Place Farm
For more info visit Elmwood
Elmwood Place is located just outside the small town of Irwin in Union County, Ohio. In 1798 George Fullington of Stowe, Vermont acquired the land from a revolutionary war Virginia military grant. This would stay in the Fullington / McIlroy families till 2005.
George Fullington made it as far as Madison County, Ohio where he died. His son Moses continued on to claim the land and in 1816 built a small home that serves as a guest cottage today.
In 1861 James Fullington built a Georgian styled home. Everything for the house was produced on site. The bricks, black slate fireplaces, glass for the windows and the extensive woodwork were hand made for the house on site. The only items to be brought in are the doors from Philadelphia and the living room marble fireplace from Italy. Once completed James placed his signature on the wall of the foyer that can still be seen today along with other workers signatures upstairs.
For its time the house had many innovative and luxurious features. One example is, it was one of the counties first homes to have indoor plumbing. There is a lead / copper tank that was installed on the ceiling of the upstairs bath to collect rain water for showering and other water needs.
James’s son-in-law James M. McIlroy was a Captain in the Civil War. His regiment marched over 11,000 miles and participated in 19 battles including Antietam, Gettysburg, and Sherman’s march to the sea.
Two of James McIlroy’s sons were also in the military and graduated from west point. After graduation in 1909 they served the military in China and Japan as attachés to the emperors of both countries. It was they that brought back brilliant rugs, (one is still in the home) delicate porcelains and soybeans to the farm.
Their brother Glen farmed the land and planted the soybeans much to the chagrin on the locals. At the time they didn’t think that soybeans would amount to much and were only planted as a novelty and feed for cattle. It wasn’t till the 1930’s that soybeans became a viable crop because new seeders were developed to handle the odd shape of the seed.
During the depression Elmwood Place was one of the only economically viable farms in the county. Glen founded Farm Management, Inc., the first professional farm management company in the state, along with later state agriculture director John T. Brown and Charles S. Neer. The idea of the company was that banks were foreclosing on farms and needed someone to still run them. He saved a lot of farms from going under by keeping families working the land and keeping them profitable. Glen McIlroy was selected as “Master Farmer” by Ohio Farmer magazine. For all of his agricultural achievements, he was elected posthumously to the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1969.
Glen’s daughter Susan Pierce inherited the farm upon the death of Glen. Susan and her husband Henry split their time between Elmwood Place and another home in Bexley, Ohio. Susan was a certified master gardener for Ohio and filled the grounds with many beautiful, rare and exotic plants and trees.
There was an extensive interior redecoration and restoration of the property in the 1970’s that brought back much of the homes original appearance. There was always a commitment to maintaining the original character and feel of the home.
In 2004 Henry Pierce died and in 2005 Susan sold the property to Jonathan Mabry; thus ending over 200 years of family ownership.
In October 2006 Elmwood Place was an official campaign stop for Ted Strickland Governor-elect for the State of Ohio.
The future is bright for Elmwood place. Extensive renovations are planned on the home, barns and pasture.
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Front Entry
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Dining Room Table
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Upper Hall
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First Shower
