Colson House - Colson House, Brecksville, Ohio (1838)

Colson House, Brecksville, Ohio (1838)

The Colson House in Brecksville, Ohio, was built around 1838 by Bolter and Harriet (Waite) Colson. Bolter and Harriet arrived in Brecksville in 1815 from Weymouth, Massachusetts. The house was built in the Gothic Revival farmhouse style on Brecksville Road, a block from the town center. The Colson’s were among the original founders of the First Congregational Church of Brecksville in 1816, Bolter being made a deacon in 1821. Bolter came from a family of Revolutionary War veterans, himself being a veteran of the War of 1812. Among their 11 children, son Newton was a Civil War veteran and eventually lived in the house with his wife Lydia until his death in 1917. Lydia Colson stayed in the house until 1932 when it was sold to the Carroll family. In the mid 1930s, the house served as the Brecksville Telephone Exchange. Around 1960, the house was saved from demolition by Walter Zimlich and moved two blocks away to Cedar Street in the Old Town neighborhood. Emil and Wilma Kocar bought the house in 1966. The Akel family bought the house in 2000 and initiated stabilization and remodeling. Since 2003, the VanderWiel family has lived in the house while undertaking restoration and remodeling work.