FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (December 19, 2006): LITTLE TIME LEFT TO SAVE “CAPTAIN SCOTT” HOUSE The next meeting of the Friends of Captain Scott Committee will be held Thursday, January 11, 7:00 p.m. at the Alexandria United Methodist Church (at the intersection of Church and Maple streets, behind the Alexandria Public Library). Everyone interested in saving the “Captain Scott House” (on the corner of state routes 37 and 161) from demolition should attend. The house must be moved by March 16th or it will be demolished. The “Friends of Captain Scott” is a committee of the Alexandria Community Council, a non-profit local group that has supported various community events and services for 75 years. The house in question was built for Captain Joseph M. Scott just after the Civil War, and it is in the path of the State Route 161 widening. ODOT has given the house to the Village of Alexandria if the structure can be moved by March 16th, and subject to certain other conditions relating to health and safety. “We asked for the house,” says Karen Holt, a member of Alexandria Village Council, “so there would be a chance for it to be saved for public use. The Village doesn’t have the kind of money necessary for that effort, and if we did we’d have to spend it on something else, but if the Community Council wanted to try to save the house, we were willing to help them out with a letter and our cheerleading.” “Most of the people who have called about the house since the banner with our number went up say they’ve admired that house for years,” said Donna Herring, chair of the committee. “Some have tried to buy it from previous owners or ODOT. Some say they’ve bought lottery tickets hoping to afford to buy that house and move it. There is a lot of emotion out there about this house that I never imagined, even though I had talked to my husband about lottery tickets in connection with that house for ten years myself.” Captain Scott was an outspoken abolitionist and prominent local farmer and historian. The house was built for Scott about 1875 and remains generally original to its classic Italianate design. The structure is in excellent condition though the outside is weatherbeaten and the copper plumbing and some other hardware were stolen or vandalized after the last tenant moved out. “Rumor has it that this is one of three homes built when three brothers returned from the Civil War alive, that they had made a pact before they left to try to outdo each other with homes for their wives if they lived,” said Herring. “One of the other homes was moved from 161 down to Morse Road earlier this fall, and the other is next to the Church of Christ at Alexandria, where there’s now a tea shop.” Doug Bennett, a direct descendant of Captain Scott, is one of those who had asked prior owners for the house. “When I was a kid growing up in the village, I would cut across the creek and the fields after school to visit my grandparents when they lived in the farmhouse next door to the Captain Scott house,” he says. “I’m involved in this committee because I don’t want to see such a fine piece of craftsmanship and local history demolished, and I hope we can get it moved to land right in the village so it really can be a useful community asset.” The Friends of Captain Scott committee is currently looking for donation of land in or very near the Village, in a lot of at least a third of an acre depending on its configuration. Present plans are that the house will be used as a community center and museum, and room will be needed not only for the house but also for parking and a school bus turnaround. Committee members are also looking for people in the community with the skills, or willing to learn the skills, needed for building the new foundation and participating in the restoration after the move is complete. If the Friends of Captain Scott cannot raise enough money or find a donated location to keep the house in or near the village as a public asset, then the house may be sold to some other public or private entity for removal, so persons or organizations that might wish to acquire the house themselves are also welcome at this meeting. Proceeds from any sale or related donations would benefit other historic preservation and education projects in the village and township. “We’ve already spent hundreds of dollars starting this effort, and will need hundreds more for more banners, flyers, and similar expenses,” said Herring. “We won’t know for another month yet whether we’ll be able to raise enough to move the house and put a new foundation under it on a donated lot. We hope that people will send donations now to support the effort, and that those who only want to donate if the house is saved as a public asset will send us a pledge, a letter that says, ‘I’ll donate XX dollars in April when you have that house out of harm’s way and the Community Council or the Village have title to it,’ for instance.” Send your tax-deductible donations to the Alexandria Community Council, Friends of Captain Scott Committee, P.O. Box 234, Alexandria OH 43001. For further information, contact Donna Herring, Secretary of the Alexandria Community Council (740-405-4594), or email CaptainScott@AlexandriaOH.org.