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Knaggs / Steinman House. The
George Knaggs House was built on an early Ottawa Indian
grant to Whitmore Knaggs of several thousand acres of
riverfront land, and is among the earliest homes in the Maumee
Valley. Whitmore,
son of a Detroit Indian agent, trader, and former English
officer, was born near Ft. Miami in 1763 and served as a
scout and interpreter for the American forces during the War
of 1812. His son, George, a successful businessman and civic leader,
built this home for his bride, Matilda Lee, shortly after
their marriage in 1828.
Matilda’s eastern background and cultivated tastes
are reflected in the details of the Federal-style house,
including the wide front entranceway surrounded by
sidelights, fanlight and detailed walnut woodwork, as well
as the elegant interior furnishings.
Supported by walnut and oak beams, the Knaggs House
has undergone several “modernizations,” including the
wide, sweeping veranda, but still retains its initial charm.
After Matilda’s death in 1847, George
married Laura Bosley of Perrysburg.
Their only child, Marie Antoinette, educated at
Ursuline College, was considered eccentric by her peers, but
had strong business instincts and was the first woman
elected to the Maumee Board of Education.
She was an advocate of the Interurban but is said to
have “hitched” rides into Toledo, rather than pay the
fare. George
died in 1866 and Laura (later Mrs. Chauncey Keyser) died in
1916. Unable to maintain the large estate, Antoinette sold the land
to Lucas County in 1929 for the Lucas County Children’s
Home and moved the house across the street.
The house later became a convalescence home until
purchased by John and Lee Steinman, the current owners.
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