1850s Granville Orchard House wedding venue with colorful history, glamping cabin, for sale

A Granville couple is selling an 1850s estate, which once served as the state's first home for alcoholics, as they prepare for their next chapter in Panama.

The couple, Dean Lowry and Jodi Melfi, have operated the estate for nine years as The Orchard House, offering wedding and other event space in the summer, and lodging in the winter.

"Now we're ready to do something else," said Melfi, "but we'd love to see someone build on what we've done here."

The 12-acre property, on Columbus Road in Granville Township, has been listed for $1.89 million by Katie and Ken Richards, with Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty.

"There's so many options," said Katie Richards. "If someone wants to treat it as residence, a historic property, they can. If they want to use it as a bed-and-breakfast, they can do that. We're hoping someone can continue to use it as a wedding venue."

The property includes two homes, an events pavilion, a pole barn and 12 acres, which includes a stand of pines in which the couple has fashioned a wedding chapel.

The main home, brick covered in white stucco, was built in the 1850s by Job Paige in an Italianate style, according to a history of the home prepared by the couple.

The property had more than 15 owners in the century that followed, along with a few brushes with condemnation. In the 1950s, according to the history, the property was taken over by the state of Ohio for unpaid taxes and used as the state's first licensed home for alcoholics, called the John Daley Home.

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In the late 1960s, the home was restored as a single-family residence, and in the 1990s, opened as the Granville Manor Bed & Breakfast.

"It's been through its ups and downs but it's a good, solid house," Melfi said.  

The 4,000-square-foot main house, which includes three suites and four bathrooms, has recently been updated but retains its historical feel. The home includes a sun room, breakfast nook, a second-floor deck and multiple seating areas.

The upper-level deck connects the main house to the 1,800-square-foot carriage house, which has been renovated into the owners' quarters with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, in addition to a separate suite with living room, bedroom and bathroom.

Also on the property is a 3,200-square-foot events pavilion, added in 2020, and three permanent outdoor ADA-compliant bathrooms added last year. Finally, the grounds include a "glamping" cabin, a 30-by-60-foot pole barn and other storage buildings.

Lowry and Melfi hosted 22 weddings at the property last year, along with other events and overnight guests.

"The weddings are fun," said Lowry. "I've gotten to the point where it's a well-oiled machine. You form relationships with couples. We'll miss that."

The couple, empty nesters in their mid-50s, have stopped booking events as they pack up for Bocas del Toro islands in Panama.

"I've been there eight times, Dean six times," said Melfi. "We're just looking for a different type of life."

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker