Adena Cottage is an original Rugby house, built in 1884 for Sara Worthington Pomeroy and her husband, Frederick Wellman. Mrs. Wellman was the granddaughter of Thomas Worthington, the sixth Governor of Ohio and Ohio's first Senator. The house was named for Adena Plantation, the Worthington home near Chillicothe, Ohio. Adena Plantation is itself today a state memorial. The Worthington home, built in 1807, is one of only three houses designed by Benjamin Latrobe still standing in the U.S., and is part of the only plantation-style complex in the state of Ohio. Because of nearby mounds, the name Adena has been applied to a pre-Columbian Indian culture that existed from about 800 BCE into the first century AD.
Adena Cottage was extensively restored and modernized about a decade ago, and includes on the property the original stable and carriage barn that has been modified into guest lodging. But just so the guests won't lose sight of its original purpose, the horse's stall remains!
The Wellman's had a son and two daughters. Mrs. Wellman and both daughters are buried in Rugby's Laurel Dale Cemetery.
Apparently neither daughter married, and both died relatively young. One was only 31 and the other 38.
Adena Cottage is currently being offered for sale.
