From The Archives

Historical Overview

The Porter Riggs House is 208 years old. The home
was built overlooking the Ohio River by Ebenezer
Porter, a Revolutionary War veteran, and Lydia, his wife, in 1800. The couple came to the area with the first wave of Ohio Company settlers. On their 82 acres, the Porters and their descendants built a Federal style home, an imposing bank barn and many outbuildings that supported their farming ventures.

Porters lived in the home for about 80 years before, like many Ohio families, moving west.
In 1880, Joseph and Isabella Riggs moved their family to Little Hocking and firmly established their orchard, vegetable and coopering business. In 1913, Mr. Riggs and Mr. Bent, his son-in-law, salvaged the pilot house from the sunken steamer, Tell City, and for nearly 70 years it graced the front lawn of the house, providing a
summer house for the family and a tourist attraction for local residents. The recently refurbished pilot house lives at the Ohio River Museum in Marietta,Ohio.

Riggs family descendants lived in the house
through most of the 20th century. Mike Neeley and Jackie LeBerth are the fourth family
to own this historic home. Many Porter and Riggs
descendants have visited the house from all reaches of the United States. Those of you interested in genealogy will find a wealth of information gathered by Mike and Jackie, as well as that shared by contemporary members of the Porter and Riggs families.

This property was also a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Property Specifications

Five to six Bedrooms
Three Full Baths
Restored Landmark Property
2.47 Acres
Ohio River Views and Frontage
Master Suite with Loft
Three Staircases to Second Floor
1st Floor Laundry
Decorative Fireplaces
Pine, Cherry, Poplar, Walnut and Ash Woods
Large Front Sitting Porch
Historic Maple Trees
Original windows with wavy glass
Some new Anderson Windows
Two Parlors
Original Hand Dug well
Updated 200 AMP service in 2007
Outbuildings for workshop,parking
Chicken coop and Dog run