Martha Boice
A Legacy in Historic Preservation
Prepared for
Landmarks Foundation of Centerville-Washington Township
26 North Main Street
Centerville, OH 45459
Prepared by
Nathalie Wright
Historic Preservation Consultant
349 E. Tulane Rd.
Columbus, OH 43202
[email protected]
614-447-8832
July 2016
Martha Boice is a woman of boundless energy. Her tireless drive and enthusiasm have been instrumental in the
preservation and documentation of historic properties in her pocket of southwest Ohio. Focusing on Centerville and
Washington Township, Montgomery County, Martha’s educational and advocacy efforts on behalf of historic buildings
have led to greater public awareness of community history and historic architecture.
After attending a few zoning commission meetings, Martha
began to see a pattern: the municipal official would make a
report on the zoning changes and then the developer would
outline their plans. No one was talking about the historic
properties that often were lost in these scenarios. “Who will
speak for the houses?” she wondered and began doing it
herself. The David Watkins-George Sears House, constructed
in 1826 with an 1847 addition, was one of Martha’s first
successfully saved properties, in 1972. Located at 8820 Sugar
Creek Point, the house was proposed for demolition by a
developer. Martha attended zoning meetings, always speaking
up for the house and, along with the township trustees,
advocating for its preservation. The developer capitulated and
the Watkins-Sears House today remains a lasting reminder of early19th century housing in the area.
Also by 1972, Martha Boice was concurrently working on local and national historic designations for Centerville. She
served as an advisor for the committee to establish Centerville’s Architectural Preservation District, established in 1972.
Martha’s research on the town’s historic stone houses directly led to the Centerville Historic District, listed in the National
Register of Historic Places in 1974. It was Montgomery County’s first National Register historic district. Patrick
Hansford, Chairperson of the Landmarks Foundation of Centerville-Washington Township, asserts that the establishment
of both historic districts slowed the tide of demolition in the community and that Martha’s involvement was crucial to the
establishment of both.
Over the years, Martha has documented hundreds of properties through Ohio Historic Inventory forms, National Register
nominations, and independent research. The John Belville House, constructed c.1835, and Fox Hollow (Frederick Smith
House), constructed 1815 with a 1926 addition, are two of the National Register nominations that she authored or
contributed to the historic documentation. Listed in 2006, the Fox Hollow nomination was the result of direct contact
from the owner at the time, who wished to have the property protected after he was gone. Martha connected him with
Preservation Ohio, which accepted an easement for the house, and led him through the easement and National Register
processes. Published in 1977, Martha co-authored A Sense of Place, a book dedicated to Centerville and Washington
Township’s historic houses. She notes that the book, which was readily available, “was very helpful; people started to
pay attention because of it.” After two years of research and coordination, she directed the effort to have two historic
markers dedicated to Mad River Road. Traversing Washington and Miami Townships, the last intact segment of the
earliest road, connecting Dayton to Cincinnati in the 1796, was recognized on Ohio History Connection markers in 2001.
Fox Hollow (Frederick Smith House)
Martha Boice was a founding member of the Landmarks Foundation of
Centerville-Washington Township. Established in 1995, the
organization advocates for the preservation of historic properties in the
community, and organizes tours. Martha was a trustee for thirteen
years (1995-2008) and board president for four of those years (19972001). Due to Martha’s convincing prowess with pen and paper, the
c.1839 David Garrison House was donated by the owner, a local
developer, to the newly formed preservation organization. The
Landmarks Foundation was able to save it from future development
pressures, as condos were then being constructed around it. The
Garrison House was eventually sold to raise funds for the organization,
and the sale included deed restrictions on future exterior alterations to
the house.
Martha authored a second history book, in 1997, Maps of the Shaker
West: A Journey of Discovery. Growing out of an initial interest in
Shaker herbs, she subsequently became interested in Shaker
architecture. Maps of the Shaker West documents the location of
Shaker communities throughout five states and won an award of
excellence from the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and
Museums in 1998. Other Shaker related educational and advocacy
efforts included founding the West Shaker Study Group and the Friends
of White Water Shaker Village in Hamilton County. In 2006-08,
Martha spearheaded an all-inclusive advocacy initiative, along with the
Martha in front of the Garrison House
West Shaker Study Group, to save Bethany Hall. Located in Lebanon,
at Union Village, it was the largest brick building in Ohio when
constructed in the 1840s. Union Village was the largest Shaker Village in the West and served as the western region’s
headquarters. Bethany Hall was the Shakers’ Center Family Dwelling. Although she diligently spent two years
promoting the building and forming a coalition of local and statewide preservation advocates, it was demolished. Sagely
realizing that not all preservation battles are won, she recalls that “no stone was left unturned” in the effort to save the
important Shaker building, and she is presently keeping her eye on the 1890s Marble Hall, the last remaining building at
this important former Shaker site.
One of the most intriguing stories concerning Martha’s dedication to comprehensive research is related to the construction
of Centerville’s stone houses. From the late 1980s into the mid-1990s, she embarked on a mission to understand the
design of the houses related to their potential country of origin. Having studied the genealogy of the some of the early
builders, such as Aaron Nutt and brother-in-law Benjamin Robbins, she set out to study the genealogy of the houses too.
She traveled to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
Kentucky, following the Nutt-Robbin’s westward
migration. In each location, she researched local deed
records and historic archives to find the homesteads
that families and relatives had lived in, and then
physically studied the stone craftsmanship of each
area. A Vernacular Architecture Forum member,
Martha was interested in knowing if the Centerville
houses maintained traditional Welsh construction
patterns, owing to Nutt’s and Robbin’s Welsh family
ancestry. She made a presentation of her findings to
the local historical society, Centerville-Washington
History.
Martha in front of the Aaron Nutt House (also the location of the local history archives)
Garnering nationwide attention, Martha’s most recent historic preservation undertaking was the instigation of a National
Register nomination for Erma Bombeck’s house. She coordinated outreach with the property owner, gathered initial
research, connected with the Bombeck family, and procured the sponsorship of the Landmarks Foundation of CentervilleWashington Township. Wishing to recognize Erma Bombeck and Centerville’s role in her writing career, the National
Register designation was a long-held dream of Martha’s. For Martha’s first visit to the Erma Bombeck House, the current
property owner baked cookies and made tea. Reflecting upon the visit, where she sat in Erma’s dining room with the
smell of fresh baked goods wafting through the air, Martha quipped, “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven!”
Resting on the front porch at Erma Bombeck’s House
During a recent tour of historic Centerville properties, Martha couldn’t
help strategizing upon seeing the deteriorated state of the vacant John
Belville House. Despite her insistence that she’s trying to retire and to
simplify her generous list of projects, the wheels were spinning. She was
pondering how she could convince the property owner to restore the
building, and a letter writing campaign to raise awareness was clearly on
her mind.
It is difficult to summarize the significance and achievements of an enduring legacy of a dedicated individual and her
community involvement. Many of Martha Boice’s colleagues and peers recognize and appreciate her ongoing efforts.
For example, Patrick Hansford stated that in the early 1970s, “Martha and the city planning office created a synergy” with
the City of Centerville that at that time had elected officials supporting historic preservation. Hansford also noted that the
City’s purchase of an historic farmstead for restoration and development into a park setting in the early 1990s was the
direct result of Martha’s involvement in Centerville historic preservation. Additionally, Steven Feverston, president of
Centerville-Washington History and a retired 35-year Centerville City Planning official, sent a letter of support in honor
of Martha Boice being nominated for a Public Education and Awareness Award. (See attached letter)
Reasoning that there “weren’t many others to speak for historic preservation,” Martha has been actively giving historic
buildings a voice since the 1970s. Reflecting upon her years of preservation activism, she noted that when changes were
proposed for the Frank Lloyd Wright medical building a few years ago, “I just stood up and people followed or got
involved.” Attention from local preservationists saved large-scale changes from happening to this important building.
For nearly five decades, Martha Boice has been documenting historic properties, and she’s still at it, currently compiling a
detailed notebook of every pre-1966 house in Washington Township. “I’ve always done that – for almost 50 years. I
appreciate them-- I document them.”
How It All Began - Martha’s Background
A Toledo native, Martha Boice was born in 1931. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ohio Wesleyan
University, 1953, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan, 1955. In 1965-67, she completed
a series of interior design classes at the Toledo Museum of Art. Studying with a nationally recognized educator, Martha
learned about period furniture and the historic buildings that housed the furniture. This coursework was the seed of her
future historic preservation interests. In 1968, Martha moved to Washington Township, with her husband and three young
children. Within a few short years of the family’s relocation, the historic preservation seed had blossomed and Martha
was at the beginning of a decades-long advocacy campaign for historic properties in Centerville and Washington
Township.
Martha Boice seen with a collection of her research projects: A Sense of Place, a stack of Ohio Historic Inventory forms, and
Maps of the Shaker West.
In 1984, Martha continued her education with a graduate course in Archives Management at Wright State University to
help organize her own family archives, and also completed an internship at Dayton Newspapers, Inc. During the same
year, she wrote a weekly column for the Centerville-Bellbrook Times, called ‘A Sense of Place.’
In addition to history and historic preservation, Martha’s other strong interests are gardening, as well as medicinal and
heritage plants. Along with a neighbor, she started a fundraising plant sale for her garden club in 1975, which she still coorganizes today. She started her own publishing company, Knot Garden Press, in 1985. The company began with the
publication of booklets prepared for special programing at the Cox Arboretum, such as a wreath- making event (The
Wreath Maker) or a tasting party of Shaker recipes (Shaker Herbal Fare). The publishing company ultimately evolved
into other publications not associated with the arboretum and then general Shaker topics, such as a book about Watervliet,
Ohio names, the Shaker Paper Dolls book and Maps of the Shaker West. To date, eight books have been published by
Knot Garden Press and two more are in the planning stages. During the mid-1990s, she also had a small business, called
Heritage Herbs and Crafts.
Since the 1970s, Martha has volunteered for countless events and numerous organizations. Additionally, she has served
on the board of trustees for many of these organizations, including the National Association of Monnett Clubs (president,
1998), Washington Township Zoning Board of Appeals (chairperson, 1980), Ohio Preservation Alliance (1988-94), and
the Landmarks Foundation of Centerville-Washington Township (1995-2008), Chair of the Literature Committee of
Celebrate Dayton, 1995-96. Among her public recognitions are an award of excellence from the Ohio Association of
Historical Societies and Museums, 1998, the Centerville Mayor’s Award for Community Service, 1988, and Volunteer of
the Year, Dayton-Montgomery County Park District, 1988.