Livingston House

Side A: The Livingston House was the home of Alexander Livingston (1821-1898). In 1864-1865, Nathan Orcutt, cabinetmaker, built Livingston’s house with slate roof, clapboard siding, ash floors, twenty-one windows and four doors, central fireplace, seven bedrooms, two kitchens, pantry, parlor, and living room. Outbuildings included a milk house and a long work shed. Blue freestone for the foundation was locally cut from William Forrester’s quarry. Sawed stone formed the summer kitchen and washhouse floor and the basement walls. The woodwork was hand-carved and the entire house had a “furniture finish.” Livingston and his family lived here until 1880. Side B: Alexander W. Livingston (1821-1898) improved and stabilized the wild tomato for commercial use, producing disease-resistant tomatoes suitable for every taste, soil, and climate. Beginning in 1870 with the red Paragon, he perfected fourteen or more new, stable varieties, including his purple Acme and yellow Golden Queen. Livingston’s True Blue Seeds were nationally recognized as highest quality. Many Reynoldsburg residents worked here at the 136-acre A.W. Livingston Buckeye Seed Gardens, or grew seed tomatoes for Livingston on their own land. Today, American tomato farmers earn more than $1.5 billion annually.