The Mariemont Preservation Foundation has started the second and final phase of masonry work on the Ferris House at 3915 Plainville Road, bringing the 224-year-old landmark closer to its long-term future as a museum.
Local contractor HICON, Inc. is tuckpointing the east elevation and chimney of what the foundation calls the oldest surviving brick building in Hamilton County still standing at its original location. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Phase 1, completed in 2025, addressed the west elevation. Phase 2 covers the remaining exterior brickwork and chimney, according to an announcement from the Mariemont Preservation Foundation published Wednesday, Aug. 5.
Funding the work
Two organizations are bankrolling the final phase. The Mariemont DAR Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, is sponsoring the project for the first time. The Ohio History Fund awarded MPF a $3,500 grant in April 2026 specifically for chimney tuckpointing. State Historic Preservation Officer Diana Welling formally presented the grant on April 10.
It marks the second consecutive year MPF has received Ohio History Fund support. In 2025, the fund awarded $5,000 for the west-elevation brickwork. That earlier phase also drew funding from the H.G., H.F. & Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation through Fifth Third Bank.
The DAR connection runs deep. The Mariemont Chapter held its first meeting at the Ferris House on May 24, 1930, and the organization furnished rooms in the house in 1936.
A building tied to Mariemont's founding
Eliphalet Ferris, son of Revolutionary War veteran Jeduthan Ferris, built the original structure in 1802. A two-story addition followed in 1812–13. The house later became the first property purchased by philanthropist Mary Emery for her planned community. In 1923, it served as construction headquarters for the Mariemont Company, and the village's groundbreaking ceremony was held on its front lawn that same year.
Richard H. Dana restored the house in 1927.
