Benedict Cottage

Benedict Cottage has sat nestled centrally in the Village since 1997. It’s history, though briefly told is nearly 200 years in the making. It was built between 1825 and 1850 somewhere along Mill Creek to be a workman’s cottage like its neighbors.

Later, it was moved west of Springfield Pike near Glendale-Milford Road in Woodlawn. There it functioned as a caretaker’s home on the grounds of the Benedict Estate, then owned by the Burchenal Family of the Procter & Gamble Company.

In October of 1997 the cottage was moved four miles to Heritage Village, and like many such moves it was done early in the morning to avoid traffic problems. The actual move took more than two hours. Since the cottage was restored it has been used to interpret 19th century textile crafts.

Beginning with the 2007 season a new old story will be told at Benedict. It will be interpreted as an 1870’s African American home in the Cincinnati Region.

After the war between the states many freed slaves migrated to large cities, Cincinnati being one such city. They became a large part of our population and contributed in many ways to our culture. In 1870 nearly all the 150 barbers in Cincinnati were African Americans.

Many of the women, while in slavery, were seamstress’s or weavers, therefore, in the Benedict Cottage's we interpret carding, spinning, weaving and sewing.
Benedict Cottage's "ficticious" family has a barber father, a seamstress/weaver mother, and just normal children who help with chores, as a children did in the late 1800's.