Roach house rehab well ahead of schedule

by Judy Stringer

Twinsburg History Society President Andy Tomko said the organization has $40,000 of the $100,000 it hopes to raise for repairs and maintenance of the Moses Roach house, an 1873 home located on the west side of Twinsburg Township Square.

Better news? Tomko said all but one of the renovations required under its January agreement to buy the vintage property from the city of Twinsburg will be done by the end of this month.

“They gave us two years to do the repairs, and nine months into it, we are almost done,” he said.

Also called the Chamber House, the Church Street building houses the Twinsburg Chamber of Commerce. Repairs completed include mending a hole in the kitchen ceiling and bracing wobbly cabinets.

Tomko said several other projects – such as the installation of a wheelchair ramp on the back porch as well as shoring up the north foundation and wall – will be done by the end of September. The only job left after that, he said, is fixing drainage issues on the property.

The work has been done by a mixture of volunteers and contractors, according to Tomko. UAW-Ford workers are building the wheelchair ramp free of charge.

“The north wall project, we contracted it out,” he said, “but the contractor is one of our members who does that for a living, so he gave us a really good price. Most of the rest we are doing on our own.”

On top of the repairs required by the city, Tomko said the historical society has put $5,000 into other interior upgrades, including the installation of fire exit signs and a new fire alarm system. Once the wall is repaired, the inside will be repainted, carpeting will be removed and underlying hardwood floors will be refinished.

The historical society also plans to move some period furniture from another property it owns – the Riley house on Liberty Road – to the Roach residence.

The goal is to bring the property “back to as close to 1873 as we can,” Tomko said. “Once we get there, we will have a grand opening so the community can come and see it.”

He added the Roach house is open Monday through Friday during Chamber business hours as well.

Tomko said he has been “absolutely shocked” by the outpouring of support from the community. In addition to two fundraisers, a spaghetti dinner sponsored by Twinsburg Rotary Club and a rummage sale in the society’s Freeman Mail Pouch barn, individual donations have helped get the organization nearly halfway to its funding goal. Seven families have donated more than $3,000 each, he said, with one donor giving $10,000 to the cause.

“We got the community behind us, and they are really helping us out whenever they can,” Tomko said.

Featured image photo caption: The Twinsburg Historical Society is leading renovation efforts at the 145-year-old Moses Roach house, 9044 Church St., which is currently home to the Twinsburg Chamber of Commerce. Photo by J. Stringer