Marietta, Ohio · Est. 1835
Built in 1835 and known for the porches that wrap around it, this much-loved Marietta home has gathered nearly two centuries of stories.
Begin the story
Contemporary view · Blue hour
Contemporary view · Autumn daylight
The symmetry catches your eye first. Then you begin to notice the fanlight high in the gable, columns rising two stories, windows that open like doors, and four side porches. Three more stretch across the back. Together, they gave the house its name.
The story through time
Some parts of this story come from public records. Others come from the building itself or from families who lived here. We have labeled each one so you can see where it came from.
Record + local interpretation
Professor Diarca Howe Allen joined the newly chartered Marietta College after studying at Dartmouth and teaching in Charleston. Family tradition says Charleston influenced the home he built in Ohio, though no surviving plan or letter has confirmed the connection.
Architectural interpretation
Two levels of porches line both sides of the house, and three more stretch across the back. Tall windows, described by a former owner as jib doors, could open directly onto the lower porches. On warm days, the house could fill with light and moving air.
Marker record
The house has had all seven porches from the beginning, but the name people used for it changed with its owners. Generations knew it as the Buell House. The roadside marker traces the story from Allen to the Buells and then to the Kelsos, each family lending its name to the place.
Local history
Family history remembers the Kelso years as a period of bed-and-breakfast hospitality, with the porches woven into Marietta lore. One family story recalls Jeane Wilson Kelso serving tea by candlelight. It is a small ritual that still feels right at home here.
Oral recollection
One childhood memory outlived the old metal slide in the sloping back garden: children were handed wax paper to make the ride faster. Jane Kelso Winter, who grew up here, later remembered that the trick was her mother's idea.
Published interview
By the time the Ditchendorfs took on the house, it needed serious care. They updated the utilities, repaired the interior, rebuilt the unsafe rear porches, and saved as much of the original house as they could.
Public record + current homeowner account
In 2023, an old friendship with the house came full circle when Larchmont's former steward became its next caretaker. In 2024, she worked with the City of Marietta to add a semicircular brick drive, bringing practical off-street parking to the property while keeping the historic house at the heart of the view. It remains a private residence, lived in and lovingly cared for.
A closer look
Its Greek Revival facade feels formal at first, but the porches were made for everyday life: shade on warm afternoons, air moving through open windows, and room to sit and talk.
A half-round window sits at the center of the front gable, turning the roofline into a quiet focal point.
Two-story columns give the side galleries their Greek Revival rhythm without hiding the brick facade.
Not visible in this front view, these floor-length side windows have operable lower panels that could turn the openings into passageways.
Four side porches are visible from the street. The National Register inventory records three stacked galleries across the rear.
Part of historic Marietta
The house stands within the Marietta Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The original nomination records details easy to miss at first glance: Flemish-bond brickwork, a cut-sandstone foundation, louvered shutters, sandstone lintels and sills, and fanlights centered in both pediments.
The house contributes to the historic district, but it is not separately listed on the National Register. We make that distinction so the record stays clear.
Through the years
The house is built for Professor Diarca Howe Allen.
Allen leaves Marietta College for Lane Theological Seminary.
A city directory lists W. H. Buell at the Fifth Street property.
An alumni directory still places Rowena Buell at the address.
The National Register nomination records it as the Lynn Kelso residence.
A published interview details the preservation work completed by the Ditchendorfs.
County records document the 2023 transfer; the homeowner’s account records the City-approved 2024 brick drive.
Good questions
The short answers are here. The rest of the site takes you deeper into the people, architecture, and memories behind them.
Contemporary photographs
The sourcebook
This history began with names and memories shared by the owner. We checked those stories against institutional records, the historical marker, and published reporting.
Supported by public records
Still being researched
Also consulted: The House of Seven Porches: Ownership History & Heritage, supplied and revised by the current homeowner. The July 2026 update records the 2024 semicircular brick drive. Personal memories and current-stewardship details are presented as homeowner accounts. The document also references The Tallow Light, Vol. 53, No. 4.
See how the history was checkedA note for visitors
The House of Seven Porches is a private residence and does not offer tours. If you visit the neighborhood, please enjoy the view from the public sidewalk and respect the people who call it home. Exterior photography is welcome from the sidewalk. We hope this site gives you a welcoming look at the history inside.