Our next house that is over 100 years old was built in1892, the same year that Nancy H. Buck purchased the land. Nancy VanOrman married Enoch Buck in 1845 in Medina County, Ohio. By the 1850 census they were living in Sylvania and each census thereafter shows them living in Sylvania and employed as farmers. They had seven children, and after their children had all grown, they retired from farming and sold their Sylvania Township farm.
Starting in 1883 they purchased property on the east and west side of Summit Street, and in 1892 they purchased our subject property and built this farmhouse that same year. Enoch died in 1897 and his Last Will and Testament left all his real estate and personal property to his wife Nancy. In 1899, Mrs. Buck sold this farmhouse and property to her daughter, Ida M. Mallett, but Nancy continued to live in the home until she died in 1907.

The 1900 census lists Nancy Buck living here. She was 74 years old, widowed and out of her seven children born, six were still living. Living with her was her daughter, Rosanna Brown, 52 years old, married 31 years, with no occupation. In the meantime her other daughter Ida and husband, Adrianne Mallett, built a home across the street at 6039 Summit St.

Ida Mallett sold this home in 1911 to Fidelia Waffle. She and her husband, Charles, were living in Whiteford, Mich. as of the 1910 census. That same year he died and Fidelia still had Helen – 13, and Grace – 5, living at home. She sold the home in 1915 to Andrew Creque.
From 1915 through 1938 this farmhouse sold every few years as follows:
1920 – Wyatt and Sparta Sabree

1922 – Sarah Nash
1925 – Grace Ruble
1928 – William and Minna Bergman
1930 – Dennis and Olga Cheyney
1933 – Bartle and Eleanor Allen
In 1938, George and Clara Parsons purchased the home and they owned it for 13 years. They were married in 1937 in Indiana and came to Sylvania from Midport, Ohio. His first wife had passed away in 1932 and he had three of his children still living at home.
A zoning permit was issued in 1939 for builder Ben Wyant to put in a new foundation and flooring on the front porch with new steps.
In the 1940 census George was listed as 45 and employed as a car repairman for a steam railway company. Clara was 36 and employed as a registered nurse for the Lucas County Health Department. Living at home was Geraldine Parsons, 20; Ernestine Parsons, 17; and George, 15 years.
The Parsons were still living here when the 1950 census was taken. He was 55 and a repairman for a railroad company. She was 44 and not working. They sold the house in 1951 to James and Bernice Woodward. They owned it for the next 42 years until 1993.
The Woodwards were married in 1936 and always lived in Sylvania. He served during World War II and was a very active member of the Sylvania Township Volunteer Fire Department for years. Old-timers will remember Jimmie and Bernice running a restaurant called Jimmie’s Hamburger throughout the 1940s and 1950s in downtown Sylvania, next to the old council building. They lived in the house that used to be located at 5301 S. Main St. from 1941 until 1951, then they moved to this Summit Street home in 1951. Soon after they closed their downtown restaurant they started operating the Village Inn on South Main Street at Brint Road throughout the 1960s and part of the 1970s. Their three children were Dale, James Jr., and Bonnie.
Volunteer fire department records noted that after major fires Jimmie and Bernice would invite the fire department members to their restaurant, where even in the middle of the night they would serve all those who had just finished putting out the fire. The Woodwards were truly great Sylvanians and there is so much more I could say about them, but space is running out. Jimmie passed away in 1981.
In 1988 Mrs. Woodward obtained a permit to add a 24-foot by 24-foot garage addition and in 1991 a permit to place an 8-foot by 10-foot storage shed in the backyard. Bernice sold the home in 1993. She passed away in 2001.
In 1993 James and Gina Ragland purchased the home and still own it today.