James and Sophia Clemens Farmstead | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
Nearest city | 467 Stingley Rd., Palestine, Ohio |
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Coordinates | 40°4′39″N 84°47′43″W / 40.07750°N 84.79528°W |
Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
Built | 1850 |
Architectural style | I-house |
NRHP reference No. | 01000199[1] |
Added to NRHP | March 15, 2001 |
The James and Sophia Clemens Farmstead is a historic farm situated in western Darke County, Ohio, United States. Located at 467 Stingley Road,[1] approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Indiana border,[2] it is among the oldest remaining buildings of a small community of free African-Americans founded before the Civil War.[3]
Natives of Rockingham County, Virginia,[4] James and Sophia Clemens settled in Darke County in 1818 and became prosperous farmers. Their success led other former slaves to migrate to the vicinity, and a community known as "Longtown" (alternately "Tampico"[4]) gradually grew up in the vicinity of the Clemens farm. Over the years, the community became a center for the Underground Railroad, complete with a Quaker school known as the Union Literary Institute; among the movement's leaders in the community were the Clemens family.[3]
The Clemens house itself was erected circa 1850 on land purchased in 1822.[5] The two-story brick I-house rests on a limestone foundation and is covered with a tin roof.[6] Though the house is presently uninhabited, a movement to restore the house and designate Longtown a state historic landmark began in the mid-2000s.[5] The Clemens house itself has been designated a historic site, having been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, along with the other building on the property.[1] It qualified for the Register both because of its place in local history and its association with James Clemens, who was seen as a significant individual in the history of Darke County.[6]