Shortly after their marriage in 1877, Abraham and Jane Ludwig Johnston Monnett relocated from their Marion County farm to Rose Ridge, their recently purchased home on what was then the southern edge of Bucyrus, Ohio.  The 23 room mansion was built in 1868, by Horace Rowse, son of Crawford County pioneer Zalmon Rowse. Construction for the brick and cedar shingle house was overseen by contractor George Fenner.   The Rogers Street house was chosen for its large lot, and its large physical size, which would easily accommodate the gatherings of the combined Monnett and Johnston family's.  Undoubtedly the home was also chosen because it was the largest home in Bucyrus, a befitting seat for the wealthiest farmer in the community and his new family. Another consideration was Jane Monnett's daughters, ages 8-15 ( by her first marriage to the late Henry D.E. Johnston) were of school age and the Bucyrus city system afforded a better education then the rural one room schools found in the countryside. 

Rose Ridge, looking southwest from Rogers Street about 1904.  A fire escape  was added to by Jane Monnett after the 1903 fire 

Rose Ridge was built as a showplace, with room arrangements on the first floor designed with entertainment in mind.  The property hosted numerous weddings during its use as a private residence including those of Emma Rowse to Horace Deal, Amina Monnett's marriage to James Calvin Tobias, Zua Johnston to Frank Stivers and Mary Johnston to Peter Powell.  The front parlor of the home served as an operating room when Abraham Monnett underwent surgery for the removal of bladder calculi; the same room held his body several days later prior to the funeral and burial at Monnett Chapel.

Rose Ridge and its grounds, looking southwest about 1890.  Lucas Street is seen in the foreground running left to right. The fields in the foreground were part of the original parcel when Abraham Monnett purchased the house in 1877.

In 1903 a spark from a chimney set the cedar shingle roof of the home on fire.  While neighbors and family members were able to pull most of the family possessions from the home, the building was extensively damaged.  Rose Ridge was rebuilt by Jane Monnett (including the addition of steel fire escapes as a "precaution") who continued to occupy the house for the remainder of her life, dying there shortly after Christmas 1912.  Afterward, her daughter Nora Johnston Tobias resided there for a time.  

After changing hands several times, Rose Ridge was converted into an nursing home before being razed in the 1950's for the construction of "modern" successor nursing facility.  

Rose Ridge, From the Monnet Family Genealogy
(Jane Ludwig Johnston standing the yard with her daughter Nora)

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