TROY – On the eve of Historic Preservation Month in May, the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance will host a public education session regarding the proposed expansion of downtown Troy’s National Register-listed historic district.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28, at 6 pm at the Troy-Miami County Public Library. It will feature Abby Marshall, senior survey and National Register manager with the State Historic Preservation Office, which administers Ohio’s National Register program. Light refreshments will be provided.

“Listing on the National Register of Historic Places is an honor for any community. For Troy, this expansion provides an opportunity for more downtown property owners to be included in the existing district and to take advantage of the various benefits,” said Chris Manning, vice president of the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance.

A National Register listing confers prestige on properties while also giving their owners access to voluntary, valuable economic development tools ranging from historic tax credits to grants. The Overfield Tavern Museum, for example, has qualified for $35,000 in grant dollars so far to help with its restoration thanks to its National Register listing. Having one’s property listed on the National Register as part of a district comes with no zoning restrictions, which are handled at the local level. It also does not prevent a historic building from being altered or demolished, though such actions are discouraged.

Troy is home to one of the state’s oldest downtown historic districts. Listed in 1975, the Public Square Historic District extends out one block in each direction – north to Water Street, west to Cherry Street, south to Franklin Street – except to the east, where it extends out two blocks to Mulberry Street. While more than 100 cities and villages in Ohio have

downtown districts on the National Register, less than 25 percent of them hold statewide significance, as Troy’s does.

The proposed expansion would nearly triple the district’s size in terms of the number of properties included, from 46 to 124, but would focus on the same themes as the original district, with most buildings within the proposed expansion boundary associated with commercial, religious, fraternal, or civic use.

Landmarks within the area proposed for future inclusion in the district include: the Overfield Tavern Museum; the former Hobart Brothers headquarters building (now the Hobart Center for County Government); the Troy-Miami County Public Library; the Miami County Courthouse; the Hayner Distillery complex; First Presbyterian Church; the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center; the Miami County Safety building; the old Trinity Episcopal Church (now “The 1833” event center); the U.S. Post Office; former Troy Fire Station No. 1 (now Old Scratch Pizza); the Masonic Temple; the First United Methodist Church; the IOOF building/old Miami County courthouse; the old Miami County sheriff’s office and jail (now Waite, Tomb & Eberly); City Hall; Elks Lodge No. 833; and the former Troy Daily News building (now Level MB Construction).

Several of the properties within the proposed expansion area are already listed individually on the National Register, including the William Dunlap House at 16 E. Franklin St. and the Judge Henry Williams House at 16 S. Cherry St.

Manning said the project has been under way for more than a year. The expanded district could potentially be listed on the National Register by the end of 2027 if its second phase begins this summer as planned.

Attached map shows the original boundaries of Troy’s Public Square Historic District and the proposed expansion boundary.