Broadwell Fascination

The Broadwell House (c. 1804), a two story limestone structure which served as a private home during the 19th and 20th centuries, sits on the Cincinnati Country Day School campus in Cincinnati, Ohio. Although previously used as a residence by CCDS Heads of School, the house currently serves as a place for various school meetings and functions. Although I have taught at CCDS since 1990, my fascination with the Broadwell House began in 2005. I realized that a class field trip to the “early settler” Broadwell House could provide authentic support to a unit of study about early 19th century settlers in the Cincinnati area. As I attempted to gather teaching material related to the Broadwell House I realized that the information did not exist in one neat and tidy bundle. When library visits and communications with the local historical societies yielded helpful but brief results, the enormity of answering what had seemed like very basic questions began to dawn on me. Years later, I continue to have an ever-growing passion for reading and researching history. Motivated by my early questions, I have learned to access primary sources such as early property deeds, census records and old maps. My hope is that this blog will serve as a space for me to document the history of the Broadwell House and family with the hope that I may gain and provide information for fellow researchers.