JANELLE PATTERSON The Marietta Times From left, Jack Haessly, Bill Reynolds, Bill Bowersock and Mark Haessly, unveil the future site of the Judge Joseph Barker Jr. House on the hill of the Lower Newport line in front of Ohio 7 Friday.

LOWER NEWPORT–On Friday, leaders of the Save the Barker House movement unveiled major breakthroughs in the effort to salvage the historic home.

About one-eighth of a mile from the current location of the Judge Joseph Barker Jr. House, a new sign sits on land recently purchased by Haessly Hardwood Lumber partners Jack, Steve and Mark Haessly.

The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for important associations with master builder Col. Joseph Barker, one of the earliest white settlers in the Marietta area who was lauded as a regional practitioner of the Federal style of architecture.

While other houses built around the same late 1820s time period may still stand in the area, upgrades and renovations have done away with many of the unique characteristics of the Federal style.

The younger Barker was not only a judge in Washington County Common Pleas Court until his death but had also served as a lawmaker in the 1830s in the Ohio General Assembly and gave pieces of his property for two community cemeteries and the local schoolhouse.

JANELLE PATTERSON The Marietta Times A watercolor rendition of the Judge Joseph Barker Jr. House by local artist Allan Norris was inspired by a previously run photo of the house in The Marietta Times. The Barker house is currently a white-washed brick home on the National Historic Register.

His house stands on the property of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the current owner of the building. The corps used the building for its offices during the construction of the Willow Island Lock and Dams but have since let the building fall into disrepair.

The Haesslys, who spearheaded the effort with the aid of the Washington County Historical Society, local attorney John Halliday and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, purchased the land from Fred R. Price and are donating the future site of the home to the cause.

“The first question was if we could even move the house,” said Bill Reynolds, president of the Washington County Historical Society. “That was answered with a resounding yes by the two companies we got quotes from. We would first have to shore up some of the masonry and take down the backside addition but it can be moved.”

Jack Haessly, president of Haessly Hardwood Lumber, said the next discussion was on location.

“We needed a spot that could be seen, that could pay tribute to what Barker did for this area and without a location, this movement would have died. So we entered negotiations and the company now owns the land south of the government land between the road and the river,” he explained.

The father and sons trio decided to purchase the 137 acres of a former gravel pit site that now boasts a picturesque pond beside the original site of the Barker Cemetery.

Now the group has until mid-June to provide a plan for the future of the house to the corps, otherwise, the house is scheduled for demolition by the end of September.

Then if a plan can be produced, and the corps can be convinced to impose a stay of execution for two years, the goal is to have the funds to move the house down the road and stabilized to face Ohio 7 and the current site of the Barker Cemetery and the old Barker School.

“But first we would need to raise a few hundred thousand dollars through donations after hopefully getting that extension blessing from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Reynolds.

At a glance

¯ Haessly Hardwood Lumber Company purchased land across from the Barker Cemetery, old Barker School and its business grounds on Ohio 7 to provide a space for the Judge Joseph Barker Jr. House.

¯ The new site is one-eighth of a mile from the spot the house has stood for more than 180 years.

¯ Next steps in the Save the Barker House movement include:

– Setting up a fund for donations at the Marietta Community Foundation.

– Acquiring a two-year extension from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to raise the funds to move the house.

– Stabilizing the masonry of the house.

– Moving the house.

Source: Times research.