This house was located on 40 acres originally granted by Military Warrant to Mordecai Lambert, a Private in the Ohio Militia. The land was payment for his service in the War of 1812. Like many War of 1812 veterans, Mr. Lambert transferred his rights to the land, presumably in exchange for monetary payment. By the time the U.S. Government finally surveyed the land dedicated for veterans, several decades later, many were probably not in a position to move west and take on a new adventure in life. When Mr. Lambert's land was identified in 1853, he assigned his rights in it to James Karr, who took title. Mr. Karr bought land rights from numerous other veterans who were given 40-acre parcels near the Lambert land.

In 1855 Thomas Forbes, another buyer of military warrants, acquired the adjoining 40 acres east of the house in the photo, directly from the U.S. Government. By 1884, these 80 acres were owned by John Crouch, with 40 acres in Section 8 and 40 in Section 9. Between then and 1904, the township added a north/south road which split the 80 acres. Instead of following section lines, the road jogged to the west, passing directly in front of the house (where the driveway is seen above). At the south end of the Crouch property, the road jogged back east and rejoined the section line. Apparently Mr. Crouch had some influence with township road planners, as the new road eliminated about 500 feet of his driveway. The jog would survive until the 1960s, when the road was rerouted to follow the section line. The upper left of the photo shows the new road.