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1926 Waller St. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 1810 House is the home of the Scioto County Historical Society, Box 1810, Portsmouth OH 45662. Memberships are $3 single and $5 family.
The doors are of double thickness, set in 14-inch thick walls as protection from the dangers of the wilderness and attack by Tecumseh's tribes who were on the warpath in 1810. The family added an eastern section in 1912. Aaron and Mary Kinney raised 12 children in this house. The Kinney home was known as a home of warm hospitality. Through its doors came many distinguished visitors -- judges, soldiers, Episcopal bishops, governors, as well as travelers, pioneer families and hunters. The house faced south for a hundred years, but when Waller Street was cut through, the three Kinney granddaughters added a porch and pillars, turning the old farmhouse into a town house to satisfy more elegant neighbors. Today the homestead opens its doors as a living museum with a feeling of sharing and belonging. History comes alive as children are turned into young pioneers as they are supervised by guides to see how things worked and how they themselves look in old hats and shawls. Visitors come into close contact with the past instead of viewing things through glass panes or roped-off areas. Begin your tour in the large central room where all cooking was done on the hearth for many years. Look up to see an opening left in the ceiling to expose hand-hewn beams. The very hammer used to pound in the square-cut nails is near the hearth. The cherry five-legged table set with flow-blue dishes was brought from New London, CT., where it had survived the burning of that town during the Revolutionary War because it was being used by British soldiers. The corner cupboard is from the early 1800s and is one of the many furnishings collected by Mrs. Annice Miller during the early days of the Scioto County Historical Society. Country style chairs and many pieces are gifts from residents of Scioto County, and Kinney originals throughout the house were donated by Donald Porter, a descendent of Aaron Kinney. The glass-enclosed chair was used by Bathsheba Rouse, the first schoolteacher in the Northwest Territory. A large wool spinning wheel stands by the fireplace, and a case holding small articles and miniature dolls is under a window. A table displays old photographs and letters sent in the early 1800s making you want to linger here before you step into the Victorian parlor. The front parlor is furnished in a later period as the house was occupied by Kinney descendents until 1946. The rugs, Seth Thomas clock, hand-painted mirror, zither, velvet couch and Philander's portrait belonged to the Kinney family. Gathered from others are a petticoat table, damask-covered chair and love seat, a globe lamp, stuffed bird, knick-knacks and many doilies as seen in parlors opened only for company. Stereopticons with picture cards and family albums entertained Sunday visitors. A mannequin presides over a gold and white tea set on a small table. She wears an 1879 Paris gown from a collection of 37 dresses worn by brides from 1809 to 1932. Notice the papier-mâché tilt-top table as you go up the front stairs to see the children's room. Here are gathered toys and small furniture which helped children of long ago to imitate their parents' activities. Toys were passed down to the next generation. Dolls in rocking chairs, beds, cradles and buggies, cupboards of doll dishes, a small dresser and cool stove, well and bucket, building blocks and a horse-hide covered hobby horse from 1850 bring smiles to children of all ages. Around the Jenny Lind bed is a collection of children's clothing with quaint bonnets and shoes so we can see how children looked in a past era. Hung on a wall are many embroidered and lace-trimmed christening dresses as well as two red and white calico ones worn by twins in 1808. This is a cluttered room but children like it that way and so do we. At the head of the stairs is the master bedroom. The four-poster bed is covered with a trapunto quilt made in 1835. A hand-made wooden cradle stands near the bed ready for the newest infant. The marble-topped dresser, a wash stand, trunks and rocking chairs, homespun coverlets, flower paintings and antique toilet articles add color and intimacy to the room. A rare "Florence" sewing machine dated 1864 still has attachments and instruction book. A gentleman's corner shows spats, starched collars, shaving mugs, button shoes and canes. Since there were no closets, extra clothing was stored in chests and trunks or hung from pegs on the wall. In this room you will see fashions from hoop skirts through the bustle period and Victorian draped skirts trailing the floor. A gown worn for playing croquet introduces the first in sportswear. The upper hall room has been arranged to show articles gathered from past Scioto County schools. Old desks stand in a row holding arithmetic and spelling books, McGuffey readers and writing slates. The teacher's desk holds the welcome recess bell but also the hated dunce cap. Look for the Mother Goose book printed in 1855 on the smallest child's desk. A water jug with a dipper used by all stands by the door. Nearby hangs an early Girl Scout uniform. The back bedroom is furnished with an original Kinney bed which is covered with a silk patchwork spread. The spread was made by the Kinney sisters for their niece's wedding in 1854. Antique clothing is arranged on hangers so each may be easily examined. The women's clothing includes wedding dresses, ball gowns, maternity sacks, beaded capes, coats, shawls, hats and finery. The men's section shows formal dresswear with derby or top hats, riding britches, linen dusters and World War I Army and Navy uniforms. One corner of the room has an exhibit of costumes worn on stage by Julia Marlowe. Since the famous Shakespearean actress lived in Portsmouth as a young girl, a trunk full of her costumes and accessories was given to us by the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. A dressing table shows hatpins, a hair receiver, curling irons, laced corset, ribbons and fans, all finery used for beauty. Visitors admire the lovely gowns worn for graduation, weddings, parties and the opera, but it is the everyday clothing that is most significant as so little has been preserved. Down the back stairs to the library -- the place for browsing through books, documents, letters, photographs, scrap books, journals and old music. The desk was used by Dr. Titus, who practiced here from 1849 until 1902. You are asked to sign the guest book here. A wooden box of medical supplies used by the captain of the riverboat Hope stands open. Above it is a wall display of old swords. A glass case shows unusual small articles. The kitchen became the most important room in the house when cook stoves came into use. Here meals were prepared and served, butter was churned, baking and preserving and laundry work done plus the weekly event of bathing in the washtub pulled close to the wood stove. The four cupboards stood in this room and on the shelves the utensils for these many activities -- cast iron pots, china and bottles, items used to pit cherries, stuff sausages, pop corn, squeeze lemons and cut noodles are displayed. A laundry corner is complete with wooden tub, copper boiler and wash tub, but also a hand-driven washing machine. Ironing was done on a long board propped on chair backs using sad irons heated on the stove. Shown in the kitchen is a wrote iron chest with a large key dating from the 17th century. This was used as a safe in the first bank in Portsmouth when the Commercial Bank opened in 1819. Men will enjoy the handmade woodworking tools on display. Baskets hang from the ceiling and herbs are drying. The kitchen was the center of activity in country homes. We invite you to return at any time for a closer look at things that particularly interest you. New displays are added frequently.
First Franklin stove in the county stood on the iron platform still in place in the master bedroom. First military funeral in the area was held on the Kinney farm for Uriah Barber, a Revolutionary War hero. Peter Kinney conducted the service and more than a thousand people attended. First carpet in the county: Mary Kinney and her sister Anna spun, dyed and wove into shaded colored blocks a carpet for the floor after Anna described such a luxury seen in Philadelphia. First vineyard in Ohio after the one in Cincinnati from which cuttings were brought to the Kinney farm. One of the first three brick structures in the county and the only one still standing. Occupied by three generations of the Kinney family.
 
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Step into this historic old farm homestead and be reminded of the courage of the pioneers who cleared, settled and cultivated wild forest land. The materials used in building came from the land on which it stands. Oak and walnut for the frame and floors, stone for the foundation and clay for the hand-pressed bricks formed the building as it rose beside a spring of clear water.