Top - Pioneer House

Pioneer House - Unique Antiques & Gifts 10245 Township Road 47- (1 mile east of) West Liberty, OH 43357 Hours (May - Dec) Mon-Sat 11 to 5 - Sun 1 to 5 Country Crafts - Collectibles - Quilts - Folk Art - Herbs & Everlastings

The historic journey started in 1690 when John Piatt left the lovely Provence of Dauphene in Southeastern France. John came to America and settled in New Jersey. Each of his five sons became officers in the Revolutionary War. One of his sons, Jacob, served as a Colonel on George Washington's staff. Jacob continued on another journey after the war. He set out with his family for Kentucky and on the banks of the Ohio, opposite the mouth of the Miami River, in the vast wilderness of Boone County he built his now famous historic home, Federal Hall. Benjamin M. Piatt, one of Jacob's sons was born with the same adventuresome spirit of his father and grandfather. He continued the family journey by serving with General William H. Harrison in the War of 1812. Afterwards he studied law, entered the legal profession, and in time became a circuit court judge working out of Cincinnati.. Judge Piatt acquired 1,700 acres of wilderness in the Ohio Valley of the Mac-O-Cheek. It was here, in the picturesque and primitive beauty, where the Judge and his wife Elizabeth would settle. The Mac-O-Cheek Indian tribe, a part of the Shawnee Nation, occupied the region and gave their name to the valley. Amidst his Indian neighbors and the vast beauty of the land, Benjamin built his Pioneer Home in 1828. The large house was built of hand-hewn logs and had seventeen cozy rooms. A basement supported the stone foundation and there were stairways built from rich black walnut and outside there were spacious front and rear porches. Snow would drift through the clapboard roof and leave a light coating on the bed quilts below. This Ohio wilderness was to be not only beautiful but fruitful for Benjamin and Elizabeth, who reared their many children in this wooded loveliness. Pioneer House had yet another destiny, it became a refuge for run-away slaves traveling the Underground Railroad. Elizabeth Piatt, an underground sympathizer, used an ornamental hitching post at Pioneer House to signal fugitives when they were welcome. A flag in the outstretched hand of the iron groomsman indicated that Judge Piatt was not at home and it was safe to stop. If the flag was missing, the Judge was at home and the fugitives had to pass by. Two of Benjamin and Elizabeth's sons, Colonel Donn Piatt and General Abram Sanders Piatt, grew up in this already historic home and went on to become noted military leaders. In 1864 Abram built Castle Piatt Mac-A-Cheek in the Norman French style a few rods from the Pioneer log home of his youth. Later in 1881 Donn Piatt built his Flemish castle known as Mac-O-Chee about a mile east of his brother's. Pioneer House, steeped in history and surrounded in memories closed its doors. In the overgrowth and weeds it waited for yet another adventure. The new adventure began in 1975 with David and Jane Younkman. The Younkmans acquired the house when they purchased twenty-five acres in the vicinity and built their own home. Jane and David, like the Piatts before them, were captured by the beauty of the wilderness and settled to raise their two sons, Derek and Jonathan. Pioneer House, by this time was completely run down and deteriorating. The Younkmans meticulously worked step by step with eleven of the original seventeen rooms that remained. It took over seven years of research and hard work to restore and recapture the beauty and authenticity of this charming log home. Finally it was completed. Pioneer House ... shining with pride and craftsmanship. The original black walnut stair steps, four inviting fireplaces, the spacious front and back porches all restored. Even the shaker shingles boast the lovely dormers from which the magnificent view of the Mac-O-Cheek Valley can once again be recaptured. Now an adventure and journey for you! As you reach the top of the winding brick stair path, lined with wild flowers and trees; Pioneer House reveals itself as it once did in the nestled woods of the early nineteenth century. You are back in Benjamin and Elizabeth Piatts' Pioneer Home. A candle in the window welcomes you and as you open the front door a delightful aroma of stove top potpourri tantalizes you to continue. You realize this is not just another antique shop. Jane has meticulously collected primitives, folk art, antiques and an array of period furniture, toys, chests, baskets and clothing. Hand-made quilts adorn the beds, herbs and dried flowers are everywhere. There are gifts, crafts and fold art to buy and antiques to take home and treasure. As you go from room to room, glance out the windows at the vast beauty or view the portraits of Benjamin and Elizabeth Piatt, encompassed in their antique frames, you'll ponder your unforgettable journey into the past.