The Foster is a three-story English cottage built in 1915 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Set on a rare double lot, the home retains many original features, including leaded glass windows, glass doorknobs, original wood floors, French doors, and five fireplaces. Original gas chandeliers have been converted to electric.

The property also includes Athens’ oldest original residential swimming pool, historically known as the Swimming Tank. Today, The Foster remains in the care of only its second owners in more than a century.

The Foster Family

The Foster family is one of the first family descendants of Athens Country, Ohio. Zadoc Foster and his wife Sally Porter Foster and five children, migrated from Massachusetts (via Ohio River), settling in the Belpre area in 1796. In 1808, the family (then consisting of 10 children) moved north to Athens.

  • Upon arriving in Athens, Zadoc Foster became an Innkeeper near the college campus, which at that time, only had one building (Cutler Hall).

  • Zadoc’s wife, Sally, was the only Athens school teacher, and she also was a founding member of the Presbyterian Church in Athens.

  • Fast-forwarding four generations, Harry Zadoc Foster Esq., submitted plans to build a 6 bedroom, “fireproof house (stucco)” in 1915, located at 220 E State Street.

  • The house was built of cinder block, and was left to set for a full year before stucco was poured on the exterior. After poured, the house sat for another full year, before the Foster family moved in. This level of craftsmanship and attention to detail plays a major role in why the home still stands over 100 years later.

  • The Fosters were innkeepers, teachers, shoe business owners, mercantile business operators, bankers, lawyers, and as some of Athens’ founders, held several prominent roles that gave shape to the city of Athens.

  • There are six generations of Fosters buried in the West Union Cemetery.

The Kramers

In April 1999, the Stephen Kramer family purchased the home from Harry Z. Foster’s daughter, Grace Foster Hunter and her husband George Hunter (of Kerr-Hunter Hardware in Athens), making the Kramers only the second owners since 1915.

Over the last twenty-seven years, the Kramers have made several renovations to the home and property including:

  • Restoring and framing the original house & property blueprints from 1915.

  • Completely restoring the swimming tank (the oldest pool in Athens).

  • Replacing the cedar shake roof (unfortunately, a major fire hazard) with a modern shingle that maintained the

    look of the era.

  • Building custom wooden shutters and window boxes, designed to honor the look of the 1920s era.

  • Maintaining the home’s historic integrity by keeping all the original solid wood doors and glass doorknobs, as

    well as the original leaded glass windows throughout the home.

  • Building sidewalks between the terraced yards, using authentic Athens Block.

  • The Kramers have never structurally changed any of the rooms in the home and have not painted the original exterior stucco, in an effort to maintain the home’s historic integrity.