Cummin’s Home

Side A: Thomas Stinson Cummin, owner of a successful dry goods store, built his home in the early 1870s on the outskirts of the growing village of Marion. The home was purchased in 1889 by Henry M. Barnhart, an inventor and co-founder of the Marion Steam Shovel Company. In 1927, it was sold to the Schaffner- Queen firm of funeral directors and converted into a funeral home. Franklin Schaffner had previously been responsible for the funeral arrangements for President and Mrs. Warren G. Harding. A succession of businesses has maintained the use as a funeral home. As of 2016, the building is occupied by the Denzer-Farison-Hottinger & Snyder Funeral Home. (Continued on other side) Side B: (Continued from other side) The home, built in the Second Empire style popular in post- Civil War design, features a Mansard roof that provided space for a ballroom with an adjacent receiving area and tea room. The attic was subsequently converted to a coffin showroom. Exterior modifications included the removal of the dome atop the octagonal tower, replacement of the original one-story columns and porch with two-story ionic columns supporting a balcony and topped with a pediment as well as the addition of several rooms. The first floor features 12-foot ceilings, ornate chandeliers, walnut woodwork and elaborate plasterwork. It remains one of the few examples of the grand homes which were once the showcases of the industrial and business leaders of Marion.