Crisp-Raymond House

The Crisp Raymond House is a beautiful example of Greek Revival and Federal styles with many of its original doors and latches intact. It is also on its original foundation. The house has many Federal elements – the shallow roof pitch, narrow frieze and corner boards, fanlight and 6/6 windows.

The land was part of a large tract purchased for $25 from Davis Hudson and Owen Brown by the Reverend William Hanford, the first Congregational minister in Hudson and first secretary of the Board of Trustees of Western Reserve College. The house was built in 1825 for his sister, Mary Raymond.

Mrs. Rufus Nutting opened the first school for young ladies here in 1827, one year following the opening of the first school for young men at Western Reserve College. According to Perkin’s History of Summit County, Mrs. Rufus Nutting, was making the “pioneer effort in the cause of female education.”

Western Reserve College owned the house from 1837-1845. At some point it was used to serve meals to students, since the names and initials of students from the 1890s and early 1900s can be seen scratched into a door.

Other notable owners include infamous Hudson wheeler-dealer Henry Day. This was one of his successful ventures, since he purchased it for $850 and sold it in 1854 for $1000 when he needed ready cash.

In 1865, the house nearly became a saloon, at which point James Watson stepped in and bought the house to keep that from happening.

Watson’s daughter married Crisp’s grandfather. Thomas Crisp, a later owner, was a building contractor, one of his major projects being the Hudson Town Hall. The Crisp family owned the property for several generations and eventually donated it to Western Reserve Academy, which now uses the property for faculty housing.