Photograph of William H. McGuffey House — Photograph by Nyttend, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

McGuffey, William H., House

A National Historic Landmark. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“McGuffey House is a historic house museum at 401 East Spring Street, on the campus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Built in 1833, it was the home of author and professor William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) from then until 1836.”
Wikipedia article William H. McGuffey House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 63 National Register listings in Butler County · listed in 1966 · category: Building · one of 3 National Historic Landmarks in Butler County.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

National Historic Landmark. The highest federal designation, held by about 2,600 places in the country against roughly 100,000 Register listings.
What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 401 E. Spring St., Oxford, 45056
When was it listed? 1966-10-15
Category. building
Township. Oxford township
National Register reference number. 66000605 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

53,483 words

The chapter on Oxford Township in A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County, Ohio : with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers, published 1882 names Oxford. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

August 5, 1811, at a session of the same commissioners, on petition of inhabitants of Milford Township, it was 'ordered, that so much of the township of Milford as lies within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of the county of Butler; thence south with the western boundary line of the said county of Butler to the southwest corner of township numbered five in the first range east of the meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami River; thence east with the southern boundary line of the same township to the southeast corner thereof; thence north with the eastern boundary line thereof to the north boundary line of the said county of Butler; thence west with the same to the place of beginning, - shall compose a township which shall be called and known by the name of Oxford Township." Election to be held at the house of Sylvester Lyons on the 24th day of August, 1811, for the election of township officers.

Passage source: A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County, Ohio : with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers, published 1882.

Oxford Township presents a variety of soils and surfaces: The land is generally elevated and well. adapted to grazing, the growing of wheat, and produce of all kinds. Farms are small, and the agricultural population large for the territory embraced. With the exception of two or more sections, the land belongs to the Miami University, the trustees of that institution leasing the land for ninety-nine years, renewable forever, subject to the annual payment of a quit-rent of six per cent on the purchase money.

Passage source: A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County, Ohio : with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers, published 1882.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Oxford Township - 53,483 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,912 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,912 specimens collected within 10 miles of McGuffey, William H., House between 1879 and 1975: 852 Animalia, 774 Fungi, 212 Plantae, 60 Protozoa, 13 Unrecorded, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. V. J.; W. G. S., A.L.; Bucholtz, I. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Taphrina communis (Sadeb.) Giesenh.	1888	J. L. James
unnamed	1893	B. Fink	Oxford.
Hordeum sativum Pers.	1895	Kellerman, W.A.	Oxford, Butler Co. Ohio.
Spiza americana (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)	1879	Porter, J.B.
Tringa solitaria A.Wilson, 1813	1879	Porter collection, J.B.
Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte, 1825	1880	not recorded
Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758)	1880	Porter collection, J.B.
Tringa melanoleuca (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)	1880	Porter collection, J.B.
Gavia immer (Brunnich, 1764)	1881	Porter, J.B.
Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758)	1881	Porter collection, J.B.
Taphrina pruni (Fuckel) Tul.	1888	J. L. James	Oxford.
Xylaria polymorpha (Pers.) Grev.	1888	James J. F.	Oxford

All 1,912 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of McGuffey, William H., House: 1 plant. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Dingledine Pit & Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Plant

Every working recorded in Butler County

Storms near this property

42 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oxford, the town this property stands in, in 42 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 25 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$40,000	A barn was destroyed and several trees were downed.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$10,000	One half mile of power poles were knocked down along State Route 732. Three trees up to 12 in diameter were snapped along Reily-Millville Road. A greenhouse was blown over on US Route 27 in Hanover Township.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$10,000	Large tree branches were broken off, landing on several houses and cars. Several trees were downed.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$10,000	Trees downed.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$8,000	Numerous trees were downed in the Oxford area.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$5,000	Several trees were downed across northwest Butler County.
April 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$5,000	Numerous trees were knocked down in Oxford Township.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$5,000	Numerous trees and power poles were downed along College Corner Pike.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$5,000	Numerous trees were downed.
April 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$5,000	Trees and power lines down.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$5,000	Trees were downed.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$3,000	Several trees were reported knocked down.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$3,000	Three to four foot diameter trees were knocked down.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$3,000	A few trees were downed.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$3,000	Two trees were downed near the intersections of Hamilton-Eaton and Somersville Roads.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$3,000	Several trees and power lines were knocked down.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$2,000	A large tree and numerous large branches were knocked down.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$2,000	Several 12 inch diameter trees were downed.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$2,000	Large tree limbs were knocked down.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$2,000	Large tree limbs were downed throughout the University of Miami campus.
November 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$1,000	A large tree was downed on South College Avenue due to thunderstorm winds.
June 2008	Hail	Oxford	$1,000	no account filed
June 2008	Hail	Oxford	$1,000	no account filed
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	$100	A 6 inch diameter tree limb was downed.
May 2024	Flood	Oxford	-	High water was reported on Main Street.
May 2018	Hail	Oxford	-	The hail was accompanied by winds estimated to be 50 mph.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	-	Several trees were downed, blocking roads in town.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	-	Measured gust to 60 mph.
July 1998	Flash Flood	Oxford	-	Heavy rainfall caused several roads to flood including State Route 732.
June 1995	Hail	Oxford	-	Numerous trees were downed.
June 2017	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
August 2015	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
July 2014	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
August 2012	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
March 2012	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
July 2011	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Oxford	-	no account filed
April 2001	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
April 2001	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
April 1995	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed
April 1995	Hail	Oxford	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Butler County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Elliott and Stoddard Halls, Miami University	0.1 miles	1973
Herron Gymnasium	0.2 miles	1979
Langstroth Cottage	0.3 miles	1976
Maltby, Henry, House	0.4 miles	1979
Kumler, Elias, House	0.4 miles	1980
Sigma Aplpha Epsilon Chapter House of Miami University	0.5 miles	2005

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 66000605 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Butler County	All 63 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.