Discovering Lost Barns of Bath: Joss Barn

by Laura Bednar

Bath Township’s Heritage Corridors of Bath Committee manages one of 27 designated scenic byways in Ohio. The Heritage Corridors of Bath byway, established in 2001, covers 39 miles of road within the township. When traveling the byway, more than 30 barns are visible, many more than 100 years old and several listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Heritage barns represent our agricultural past, built with irreplaceable materials and craftsmanship. Barns have been lost due to fire, storm damage, structural alterations, foundation damage due to weather or neglect and decay due to lack of future need. Some barns were dismantled and reassembled where needed and others decayed enough to be used for fire departments’ controlled burn practices.

Bath Township has lost barns for all these reasons. A 1910 tax record for Bath noted at least 132 barns, of those fewer than three dozen remain today.

The Discover Bath Barns Committee was created in 2023 to preserve and enhance the heritage represented by barns along the byway. By highlighting lost barns through the Bath Country Journal, the committee aims to encourage current barn owners to maintain and take pride in their historic structures for future generations.

The barn formerly at 3243 Ira Rd. stood on property that was part of the story of Bath’s earliest founders, Elijah and Sarah Hale. The couple and their two daughters, Eveline and Mary, moved to Bath in 1810 with Sarah’s sister Rachel (Hale) Hammond. Elijah and Sarah Hale built a log cabin on their property in 1811 on what would eventually became Ira Road. In 1812, they built a log barn west of the cabin. 

Elijah Hale and his son, Theodore Hale, built a Greek revival style post and beam house with a shallow gable roof in 1838. Theodore Hale and his family lived in one side of the house and Elijah and Sarah Hale lived in the other. According to the Bath Township Historical Society, the earliest tax records of Summit County in 1846 list Theodore Hale as the owner of just over 98 acres with a frame house valued at $400 and a frame barn valued at $150. The barn was situated to the northeast of the home.

Mary Hale owned 30 acres to the east of Theodore Hale’s property. An 1850 agricultural census showed that Theodore Hale had three horses, five milk cows, six other cattle, 57 sheep and 11 swine. The regular 1850 census showed Theodore Hale and many of his family members, including his sister and nieces, living on the farm. Eveline Hale died in 1826 and her parents, Elijah and Sarah Hale, and her sister, Mary Hale, raised her daughters after her passing.

Sarah Hale died in 1853 and Elijah Hale died in 1856. Theodore Hale and his wife Irene moved to Oberlin around 1868 due to ailing health and for better school opportunities for their children. 

The 1870 and 1874 atlas showed that Samuel McNeil became the new owner of Theodore Hale’s 98-acre farm. The 1870 agricultural census shows that he had eight horses, seven milk cows, five other cattle, 30 sheep and two swine. He sold the house property and farm to Charles Joss by 1880. 

By 1890, Joss bought additional property, bringing the farmland total to 128 acres. Charles’ son Eldon Joss eventually took over the farm and spent the rest of his life there with his wife and three children. According to his obituary, Eldon Joss died in 1967 of a heart attack while working in the barn of his dairy farm.It is believed that the Joss family built the barn. The on-site house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. However, the house and barn were demolished when it was determined it would be more cost effective to build newer homes on the farm. 

Photo caption: The Joss family is believed to have built the barn that was once on Ira Road, pictured above. The property itself dates back to  Elijah and Sarah Hale, two of Bath’s founders. Photo submitted.