THE GAMBLE HOUSE AND ITS OUTBUILDINGS

Significance. The James N. Gamble House is one of the most historically significant buildings in Cincinnati. It is the property that best represents the life and work of James N. Gamble, civic leader, industrialist, and Mayor of the Village of Westwood. In his work with the family business, the Procter & Gamble Company, Gamble invented Ivory Soap, a groundbreaking consumer product still in production today.

The house is a High Victorian Italianate villa with a wealth of intact, detailing, including porches, roof brackets and a mansard-roofed tower. Its beautiful wooded setting evokes the rural character of the original Gamble estate. Finally, the Gamble House is the best-preserved of the country seats built in Westwood when it was still a rural village. It is a rare survivor of this formative era in the neighborhood’s history.

The house is believed to have been originally constructed in the 1830s. Significant additions and alterations were made after 1875, when James Norris and Margaret Penrose Gamble purchased the property. Local architectural historians have speculated that the addition is suggestive of the work of James McLaughlin (Victorian with Italianate influences). Several outbuildings on the site are not part of the demolition plan. Several significant outbuildings also remain on the site. These supplemental structures include a barn, carriage house, greenhouse, and caretaker's house. Most significant is the barn, which  was designed by Solon Spencer Beman, and possesses the same roof structure and window style he used in designing Ivorydale (late 19th century).

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE PRE-DATES THE GAMBLE FAMILY

Although widely known as the Gamble House, the property has historic significance that reaches back before the Gamble legacy—to the very beginnings of Westwood. James Goudy, the first known settler in Westwood, was the original owner of the land. Richard Gaines, referred to as the “Father of Westwood” also owned the property. Gaines, a native of London, England, migrated successively to Burlington, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finally to Cincinnati, where he originally settled in Green Township, which was sparsely populated at the time. By 1820, Gaines began to find this location to be too far from the city proper so he purchased a farm of 160 acres on the west side of the Harrison Pike in the western portion of the village of Westwood. It was upon this parcel that the Gamble House was constructed. John Gaines—the very first mayor of the Village of Westwood—also lived in the home. Thomas Morgan is listed as the property owner in 1873. In 1875, ownership transferred to James N. Gamble, the last mayor of the Village of Westwood, before its annexation to the city of Cincinnati.

The original size of the parcel during Richard Gaines’ tenure was has been recorded in various sources as being anywhere from 60 to 160 acres in size. There a number of references which state that James N. Gamble's father, James Gamble—co-founder of the Procter & Gamble Company—had the original structure built in 1832, but no source to substantiate these references have been found. The Gamble estate currently occupies 21 acres of partially wooded rolling hills in the heart of Westwood.

The property has remained in the Gamble family since 1875. Upon the death in 1961 of Olivia Gamble, the last full-time resident of the house,  the home was passed to Louis Nippert, who was Olivia's nephew. Mr. Nippert was once a part-owner of the Cincinnati Reds, and served two terms in the Ohio House of Representatives, From 1961 to 1992, Mr. Nippert ensured that the property was well-maintained during his tenure of ownership. He hired a full-time caretaker to oversee the building and grounds, and the main house was mothballed in a perfectly-preserved state during this time. Mr. Nippert's responsible and compassionate care for this historic property is believed to be due to his love for his grandfather, James N. Gamble. In 1991, CPA presented Mr. Nippert and his wife, Louise, with an award for their stewardship of the home. Mr. Nippert died on November 17, 1992.

JAMES N. GAMBLE: PATRIARCH OF THE WESTERN HILLS

James Gamble was co-founder of the Procter & Gamble company, and father of James N. Gamble.

James Gamble the elder emigrated from Dublin, Ireland, in the early part of the 19th century. Why he chose Cincinnati as a final destination is unknown, but references indicate it was the accident of sickness that arrested his journey in the Queen City, as it is believed he was originally headed for a point further west. James Gamble started his soap manufacturing business in 1829. He went into partnership with his brother-in-law, William Procter, to form Procter and Gamble in 1837. James and Elizabeth Gamble raised nine children, the oldest of whom was James N. Gamble.

James N. Gamble, a resident of Westwood for more than sixty years, is honored and revered to this day as a civic leader. He lived in the house at 2918 Werk Road from 1875 until his death in 1932.

James N. Gamble was born at the southwest corner of Fourth and Central in 1836. He attended Kenyon College, graduating in 1854 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at the college he was involved in building the first fraternity house in the US (a log cabin). He went on to school in the East to study chemistry.

James N. returned to Cincinnati and joined the law firm of Rutherford B. Hayes, then left to join the family firm (then at Court and Main Streets). His background in chemistry led him to the manufacturing side of the business. He is credited with developing Ivory Soap in 1879, although research suggests that the invention of the famous “floating” soap actually came many years earlier. While hunting through company archives during the process of compiling a book about Procter & Gamble's history, researchers found the diary of James N. Gamble. One entry, dated 1863, reads: “I made floating soap today. I think we'll make all of our stock that way.”

James N. Gamble married Margaret Penrose of Ireland in 1862. They purchased the property at 2918 Werk Road in 1875.

Procter & Gamble's first large manufacturing plant was located on Central Avenue in the Mohawk area. After a fire destroyed that plant, James N. Gamble was given the responsibility for rebuilding—but on a larger scale to accommodate the increase in business. Construction of Ivorydale began in 1888 in the Millcreek Valley.

James N. Gamble gave Thomas A. Edison one of his first jobs when he hired him to develop a device to allow the main offices to communicate with the plant about 2 miles away. Edison developed equipment which was a forerunner of the teletype machine.

In 1915, James N. Gamble helped create the first coordinated community campaign for charities. That charitable organization, known today as The United Way, is the leading community-based fund-raiser in the United States.

Mr. Gamble was very active in the Cincinnati community. He served on the Board of Directors of a number of organizations including the Central Trust Company and the University of Cincinnati. He helped to found the Young Men's Christian Association in Cincinnati and assisted in the formation of the YWCA. He was on the first non-partisan Board of Park Commissioners, which was instrumental in laying out a plan to connect suburbs with parks and boulevards. He was an enthusiastic supporter of connecting Cincinnati to other cities via rail and pushed for the canalization of the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cairo. Connecting the Western Hills to the city was another of Mr. Gamble's driving ambitions, so it was only fitting when, in January of 1932, at 95 years of age, he served as the guest of honor for the opening ceremonies of the Western Hills Viaduct.

Gamble was known for his generosity to a wide variety of charities regardless of creed or color. After the Civil War, he was a sponsor of the Freedmen's Aid Society to provide education and industrialization to slaves throughout the country. Christ Hospital was the major beneficiary of his philanthropic gifts. In 1927 he created and endowed Christ Hospital with an Institute of Medical Research. When his grandson James Nippert died, he saw to it that the stadium at the University of Cincinnati was completed and named in James' memory.

In the community of Westwood, Gamble was equally involved. When the local narrow gauge Cincinnati & Westwood Railroad connecting Westwood with Brighton failed financially, he invested large amounts of his own money to help resurrect it, and then convert it to standard gauge so it could be extended. He was actively involved in building up Westwood’s town center, which is now a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His name is associated with the planning for the Westwood Town Hall and Westwood School. He was actively involved in the Cheviot Lodge No. 140, which built a meeting hall in that area. He also provided a significant amount of financial assistance to build the Westwood Methodist Church. The cost of that beautiful church, which sits majestically on the corner of Epworth and Urwiler avenues, was $50,000 in 1896 dollars. It was built by a congregation of only 150 members because James N. Gamble matched every dollar contribution with five dollars of his own.

The first concrete sidewalks in Westwood were said to have been laid in front of James N. Gamble’s home on Werk Road. He also owned one of the first telephones in the neighborhood. He and his wife were instrumental in having street trees planted in Westwood, and his graciousness was legendary in in the community. He served as the last mayor of the Village of Westwood, and as such was involved in its transition to an annexed suburb of Cincinnati.

FUTURE OF THE PROPERTY

The current owners of the property—the Greenacres Foundation—have been developing a plan to bring environmental and agricultural programming to the grounds. The Greenacres Foundation is a non-profit, private, operating foundation established in 1988 by Louis and Louise Nippert (Mr. Nippert was the grandson of James N. Gamble). The Nipperts purchased Greenacres Farm in Indian Hill in 1949 with the desire to preserve the land for the education and enjoyment of future generations.

In their most recent newsletter (Winter 2009), the foundation provides a glimpse into their plans for the Gamble property, which would be transformed into a site for early childhood education programming. These plans do not include any use for the main house. In 2008 CPA presented the Greenacres Foundation with a Rehabilitation Award for their $3 million dollar restoration of the historic Fleischmann Estate in Indian Hill, which has been adapted for public use as part of their educational program in Indian Hill. CPA hopes a similar use can be found for the James N. Gamble House.

OTHER HISTORIC GAMBLE PROPERTIES ACROSS THE U.S.

Other Gamble properties in the U.S. suggest ways the James N. Gamble House can be reused to benefit the community.

The Gamble House in Pasadena, California, is recognized worldwide as a masterpiece of the Arts & Crafts movement, The house and its furnishings were designed by Charles and Henry Greene in 1908 for David and Mary Gamble. A National Historic Landmark, it has been the subject of many architectural studies and is open for public tours. The house  is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California.

In Port Orange, Florida, James N. Gamble’s grand “Cracker” home has been fully restored. All 175 acres were deeded to the Nature Conservancy of Florida in 1983. A National Historic Landmark, the estate is a popular cultural and ecological attraction and attracts tourists from around the world.

COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO SAVE THE HOME

Preservationists have been working to save the James N. Gamble House since the early 1990s. In late winter of 2010, the Westwood Historical Society nominated the house as a Cincinnati landmark. This designation would help protect the house from demolition and unsympathetic alterations. The landmark nomination received support from many community members as well as CPA, Heritage Ohio and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The nomination was approved by the Cincinnati Historic Conservation Board on March 8 and by the Cincinnati City Planning Commission on March 19. The next step is a vote by Cincinnati City Council, which has the final say in the matter.

CPA is working with Westwood preservationists on a proposal to preserve the James N. Gamble House for future generations. CPA believes a compatible use can be found for the house, which will ensure the future of this irreplaceable Cincinnati treasure.

Join us in this important effort!

DONATE NOW!