The “Excellence in Historic Preservation” award will be presented at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Aron Wright House, 155 W. Central Ave. The public is welcome to attend.
Aron Wright, a doctor, was a son of Jonathon Wright, the founder of Springboro. Aron built the house that now bears his name in 1857 for his wife Mary, to entice her to move to Ohio from New York. The house was the first in all of southwest Ohio to have many modern amenities. The home was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Dillins purchased the home in 2019 and began restoration and renovations in 2020. The historic landmark is now home to the Dillin offices, including Dillin’s development, property management and events teams.
According to the Dillins, restoration efforts included stabilizing the foundation and “jacking up” the center of the home almost four inches. Following some necessary structural efforts, new paint, new roof, new porch, lighting and exterior maintenance on the home was completed, they said.
Much of the 5.5 acres of land is in the process of being improved, including the three additional structures on the property, according to the Dillins. Inside, the home has been almost completely repainted and much of the original woodwork restored. Work continues inside the house and will for several more years until the vision is complete, they said.
“This iconic landmark in Springboro deserved to be brought back to life and to be celebrated again,” said Larry Dillin. “When the opportunity to breathe some new life in to such a grand place became available, we decided to make it personal — and now it’s where we spend the vast majority of our time each day, and we’re proud to have our Dillin offices located in the heart of real history.”
The Aron Wright House has approximately 7,500 square feet and three floors of history, including being a stop on the Underground Railroad. The house still boasts the original entry doors, woodwork, floors and windows, but has been updated over the years with new electric, heating and air conditioning and some ceiling and wall restoration.
“We’ve made a lot of great progress getting her restored and back to something that the community can point to proudly as a landmark, but we still have quite a bit to do yet,” said Cheryl Dillin, who has led the project. “It’s an honor and also a great responsibility to ‘get it right’, not just for us, but for the community and for Dr. Aron Wright’s legacy. Legacy is important to us.”
The Jonathan Wright Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution decided to give this award to the Dillins to continue their mission of historic preservation, education and patriotism.
“I have always admired that house,” said Lynda Walker, regent of the Johnathan Wright Chapter in Springboro. “That house represents our heritage, and to see it being restored and cared for again is important to history and it’s important to our community. We are so pleased that the Dillins really care about that.”
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