General Reasin Beall Homestead. Built in 1816 by General Reasin Beall and his wife
Rebecca Johnston Beall, the homestead is recognized as the oldest existing residence in the City
of Wooster. Born in 1769 in Maryland, Reasin Beall
came to Ohio in 1801. In the War of 1812, he was
promoted to brigadier general of the Ohio Militia.
After the war, Beall served one term as a
Republican to the Thirteenth Congress and ten
years as register of the land offices at Canton
and Wooster. After Beall died In 1843, his
daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Joseph Stibbs II received his house.
Wayne County Historical Society. Established in 1904 with support from Andrew
Carnegie, the Wayne County Library housed the
original Wooster Museum that formed through
donations from Wooster residents George Schwartz,
C.C. Parsons, Dr. Joseph Todd, and James Mullins.
Schwartz served as museum curator from 1905 to
1925 followed by Alvin Rich. In 1954, the Wayne
County Historical Society of Ohio was incorporated.
In 1957, the College of Wooster donated the Beall-Stibbs house, which had been converted into a
dormitory named Bowman Hall, to the society.
That same year, the Wooster Museum and the
society merged and all collections were moved to
this 546 E. Bowman Street site.
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