Of course, Burns is the owner of a well-known home in the St. Anne’s Hill Historic District: The Bossler Mansion at 136 S. Dutoit St. The mansion was built in 1869, and appeared in county records in 1871, by stone-mason Marcus Bossler and architect M. Rumbaugh.
The Bossler mansion has been a fixture in the St. Anne’s Historic District since it was built. St. Anne’s Hill was platted in 1802 and is a mostly residential neighborhood with a deep German heritage. Bossler was in the limestone and building business. His company provided stone for prominent Dayton buildings, including the city jail and courthouse.
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
The mansion was built in the style known as French Second Empire. The home is almost 8,000 square feet, which includes 13 rooms with 13 fireplaces, butternut woodwork and a central grand split curved staircase. The home also features a curved door on the first level, which Burns said might be one of the only ones in Dayton.
Unfortunately, Bossler fell on some hard times and was not able to stay in the home very long. Bossler went bankrupt after taking out multiple mortgages, and according to county records, assigning real and personal property to a couple people for payment of debts per the Supreme Court. He ended up selling the home in 1881 to Mary Schenk. She, with John Schenk, owned the home until 1887, when they sold it to John P. Mumma, and then eventually it was purchased by a realty company.
The mansion, for a large period of time, was divided up into 13 separate apartments. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. From 1980-1985, the mansion was restored to a single-family home by Lee Smithson. Burns purchased the home from Smithson in 2021.
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
Burns, who moved to the United States in 2000 from Ukraine, was living in Las Vegas and was visiting her daughter in Dayton when the mansion caught her eye. She walked by it and started talking with Smithson, and within two hours, Burns was pretty sure she was going to buy the Bossler mansion.
“We talked and we shook hands,” Burns said. “It was a funny moment. We left and agreed to think it over. We left and I looked at my daughter and said, ‘What just happened?’ She looked at me in the eye and said, ‘I think you bought Bossler Mansion.’”
That night Burns had trouble sleeping. Thoughts about being able to keep up with the property ran through her head and the possible move from Vegas. She decided to call Smithson at 7 a.m. but he called her first at 6:55 a.m.
“I thought that he was calling to say he changed his mind,” Burns said. “Now I’m thinking, I really want the house, and I’m sad that he changed his mind.”
But that’s not why Smithson was calling.
It turns out Smithson was also up all night but ultimately decided selling the home was the right decision. Burns purchased the home and became completely invested in it.
She began to make updates to the home as there was some issues with some plumbing. She renovated the kitchen and created a garden.
Burns also made sure to preserve and restore many of the features to be historically accurate. One room in the home has the same paper as the Trianon estate when Marie Antoinette lived there. She had wallpaper recreated just as it was made in the 1860s for one of the bedrooms.
Burns said she feels she is just one person who has contributed to the home’s beauty over the last 150 years.
“This house was here 150 years before me,” Burns said. “It will be here 150 years after me. I’m like a housekeeper. I’m a steward temporarily taking care of this grand place, which everyone knows in Dayton. I cannot come here and change this wallpaper … I cannot change the shutters. It’s a crime.”
Burns said she is about “95% done” with updates to the home. She plans to restore the carriage house. There is a large suite on the second floor she is almost done updating so she can use it as a short-term rental through Airbnb.
Burns said her goal with the home is to bring people inside to celebrate its history through various events.
Currently, people can reserve two rooms of the mansion through Airbnb. The mansion also offers accommodations for those who want to have small weddings, gatherings or dinner parties. Burns said the mansion can also be used for photo and video shoots. She said that one day, someone actually proposed marriage outside the mansion. The man brought his girlfriend blindfolded to the property and asked her to marry him.
“With Airbnb, I can give people that experience. They can come to live in this house, even if it’s for a few days, and that’s nice. I like that,” she said.
During the last three years, Burns has also been able to help 35 Ukrainian refugees who have left Ukraine since the war started. The refugees have stayed in the Bossler Mansion, and then Burns works to help them stay in the country and find work.
“A lot of people came through this house,” she said. “They stayed here, find jobs and then move out.”
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
Burns gives a lot of credit to her neighbors in helping her help the Ukrainian refugees and in helping her with the massive mansion. Many neighbors also helped to sponsor the refugees. Burns said that she absolutely loves living in the St. Anne’s Historic District, especially since her daughter recently moved back to Europe.
“I love the people,” she said. “Just before you came, my neighbor stopped by because she just thought of something. That’s what I like that I’m close to all the vibe. This neighborhood make it like you are in a beautiful village. I have so many friends and the social life here is fantastic.”
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For more information or to book a stay at the Bossler Mansion, visit www.bosslermasion.com.
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