With the Gas Boom, Findlay was bestowed many architectural gems throughout the city. This led to many beloved, magnificent homes in Findlay, with interesting tales of their own.

Charles H Bigelow House was built in 1888 by Charles H Bigelow. He was a son of Findlay, having been born on a local farm in 1854. He was a prominent local businessman, farmer and member of many prestigious organizations. 

The home was built for $10,000 on Bigelow Hill. It is a Queen Anne home with many uncommon attributes for the style, including square towers. Bigelow moved there with his wife, Flora, and son, Bernard, and lived there until his death in 1927.

The home then went to Bigelow’s son Bernard. Bernard’s son sold the house in 1947 for $16,000. Eden and Nellie bought the home. Eden was a prominent lawyer and became General Manager at Cooper Service.

The Bricker family sold the house in 1989 for $96,000 to Edward and Janice Sartore. The Sartores painstakingly restored the home and brought it to its original brilliance. Since then, the home was featured in “America’s Painted Ladies,” where it caught the eye of David Copperfield. Under a false name and faked history, Copperfield featured it in a 1993 special. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. 

Trivia: A mirror image of Charles H Bigelow House was constructed by Newton Adams on Hurd Avenue in 1888.

Want to see this home as well as the many other historic homes in Findlay? Take our walking tour. 

Many of the facts in this post were collected from the book, Porches & Parlors, which is available for sale at the Hancock Historical Museum.