Isaac Souder (1809-1889) purchased 225 acres in Jefferson Township in 1835 at age 26 for $674. Jefferson Township, in eastern Franklin County, was part of the U.S. military lands and offered fertile farmland and abundant water. Souder's farm prospered, and in 1837 he built a house there with bricks made on-site, creating a pond by excavating the clay needed for them. He and his wife, Anna Maria Elizabeth Minehart (1825-1878), raised four children there. Over time Souder sold portions of his land to other family members, who also farmed successfully. In 1874 he built a sawmill that became one of two permanent mills in the township. The house and farm remained in the family for 114 years as reminders of early Jefferson Township's agricultural and rural heritage. Demolished in 2020, the Souder House was an excellent example of the early 19th century I-House, a vernacular architectural style popular in Ohio from 1830-1890. Named by cultural geographer Fred Kniffen in 1936, the style typically featured a symmetrical facade with four windows on the first floor and five on the second, two stories, a gabled roof, a center hall, two rooms per floor, end chimneys, and a one-room-deep plan. Some I-Houses were built with original rear wings, while others added them later. Although most were not built in popular architectural styles, some showed Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Victorian-era designs. The Souder House also had a recessed second-floor porch that added an elegant touch to its appearance.