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Welcome to the Bissell-Tucek House, named in recognition of the first and last families who together owned and lived in this Bainbridge Township home for nearly 80 years. In 1808 Justus Bissell and his wife, Nancy, and their six children accompanied his parents from Massachusetts and settled in Aurora. They moved to Bainbridge ten years later and lived along Chillicothe Road, near the present-day freeway. In 1823 Nancy passed away. Justus remarried Mercy Collins in 1825. He bought additional acreage and built this Federal-style home in 1835. For Justus Bissell, this structure served as the family home for twenty years. He was a farmer and the township’s first postmaster. Original cubbyholes for sorting mail remain in the house. Bissell died at his daughter’s home in Munson in 1874, but is buried at Fowler’s Cemetery on Haskins Road, next to his wives. From 1855 until 2000, eight other families lived here. The north addition was built in 1870’s by the Edick family. Under the Edicks the structure continued to serve as a post office, tavern and as a place for dances, parties and Grange meetings. It was also a way-station for visitors traveling along Chillicothe Road (Rt. 306). In 1942 Frank and Valeria Tucek purchased the home and raised their two children here. The house sat amidst several large trees with gardens to the side and rear. The Tuceks bought the 2,800 sq. ft. house for $9,000 dollars after Mr. Tucek became a teacher at the Bainbridge School and received a down payment loan from school principal Paul Gardiner. Mr. Tucek was an educator for 35 years, coached, and was on the Kenston School Board from 1964-1982, serving the last six years as president. He passed away in 1985. Mrs. Tucek, who was a cook at the nearby school, died in 2000.The school had been located on the exact site and originally housed all 12 grades. In later years it was the Intermediate School for grades 4-5 and then became known as the Early Learning Center. The structure was demolished in 2008.The House was purchased by township trustees in 2001 and later leased to the Bainbridge Historical Society in 2012, to serve as a museum. All nine owners lived primarily in the south portion of the house, while the north section was rented. At its former location, the home would eventually be surrounded by a town hall, fire department and several schools. It was moved to its current location in 2009 to accommodate a new addition to the fire department.This newly-named “Heritage Park” with the Veterans’ Memorial, historic home and pavilion is tied together by sidewalks lined with bricks inscribed with the names of township individuals, families and supporters.