| BIG
BRICK: The Melvin Monnett Mansion, Morral- Kirkpatrick Road, Marion County Ohio |
Few homes belonging to the twelve
children of Abraham and Catherine Monnett exist today. Most were
simple farm and town homes. The grandest
of the Ohio houses built by "the twelve" was unquestionably
Melvin Monnette's "Big Brick" near Kirkpatrick, Ohio.
Built in 1886 at a cost of $35,000 dollars* -- at a time when the average
American middle class home could be purchased for under $3,000, the
28-room house was lavishly furnished, and employed a full household
staff. Melvin and his wife Ella were know for their dinner parties
and other social functions were guest lists of 100 people per event was
not uncommon. Melvin sold the house and contents after suffering losses
in 1890's. He and his wife later recouped
their losses when Monnette's elder brother Mervin struck silver in
Colorado. Melvin Monnette retired to California were he resumed
his life of opulent comfort. |
(Image1) Melvin Monnette's "Big Brick",
located along Morral-Kirkpatrick Road as it it appeared
about 1927. (Photo Courtesy of the late Roy Hobson) |
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(Image 2) The Marion Star,
Thursday, June 11, 1931 reports the fire at the Monnett Mansion.
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(Image 3) Following the fire, all that remains of
Melvin Monnette's 28 room mansion are foundation walls and the cast iron
fence that surrounded the property. (Photo Courtesy of the
late Roy Hobson)
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*While $35,000 may not seem like a
great deal of money, according to the book, The Value of Money, the
adjusted value of a $1 in 1880 had the purchasing power of about $17
today. At the rate the adjusted value of the construction of the
house (not counting furnishings) equals about $600,000. Still
doesn't seem like that much to pay for a house? Well then consider this,
in 1880 value terms, the average home in the United States had a value of
about $2,000 to $3,000, meaning that Melvin Monnette could have built 17 basic houses for
the dollar value of his home in 1880. Still not that impressed? Then
consider this, in today's terms, the average value of a middle class home
in Central Ohio is about $150,000 -- which means the perceived cost of
Melvin Monnette's "Big Brick" built in today's world would would
be, conservatively around $2.3 Million (year, 2001) dollars. For a
farmhouse, that's a lot of bricks in anyone's book! |
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