Rezin W. Shawhan, born in 1811, arrived in Tiffin in 1832 and opened a store with his brother Lorenzo. The store’s success enabled him to expand into real estate and banking, and upon his death in 1887, his estate was valued at more than $1 million. Much of his estate was left to his second wife, Della Watson Shawhan, and he also made bequests to Heidelberg College, the library, and Tiffin’s churches. His Greek Revival-style house, built in 1853, later passed down through the family to Lynn Troxel, who donated it to the county in 1941 for use as a museum. The house is part of the Fort Ball-Railroad Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.