MINERAL RIDGE — The Moss Ancestral Home has been added to the National Register of Historic Places with an unveiling of a marker over the weekend designating that achievement.

Members of the Mineral Ridge Historical Society and local residents gathered for the unveiling during the two-day open house of the historic home.

The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior through the National Park Service.

Mary Lou Godleski, curator of the Moss Ancestral Home, said work began more than 20 years ago to get the home restored and today showcases many items from Weathersfield and Mineral Ridge history.

The Godleski family and others have restored the historic house.

She said all the necessary data was recorded, including having the home on a GPS map, and all the items showcased in the home were photographed as part of the application process.

“This home is very important to me and my family. We finally did it. We submitted the application and all the photographs that were needed to get this designation,” Godleski said.

Marci Buchanan, president of the Mineral Ridge Historical Society, said an application process took place, including receiving approval from the Ohio History Connection.

Buchanan, Godleski and others did the research to get the application and other materials submitted to get the historic designation. Buchanan said she received help with the process from Sue Tietz of the Southington Community Trust and Chris Klingemier of the Hartford Historical Society.

Godleski said many volunteers help at the monthly open house on the second Sunday of each month.

Resident Joe Carl, who lives near the historic home, said the work done on the home has made it so much more attractive for the neighborhood off Burnett Street.

“Thank you and the others for brightening up the neighborhood,” he said to Godlelski.

Buchanan said the house’s application to be on the registry was reviewed by the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office in Columbus, which forwarded the request to the national level. The National Parks and Recreation Services Offices then reviewed the request.

Buchanan said the process for the state to review the application took about two years.

The National Registry of Historic Places criteria is based on age, integrity and significance of the property or building. Buchanan said buildings and locations that get on the register receive national recognition and also provide places for preservation and archaeological study.

The two-and-a-half story Pennsylvania Bank-style house house built in the 1830s is located at 1499 Burnett St. and is one of the oldest houses in the area. The Moss family lived in it from 1859 to 1899.

Godleski, owner and curator of the Moss Ancestral Home and a Moss family ancestor, said the designation will help the site become a tourist stop. She said grant funding also is easier to secure with the designation.

Trish Scarmuzzi, who previously served as curator of collections of the National McKinley Birthplace Museum in Niles, said there is a social media site on the house that gives information on its history.

She said the Ohio Historical Society lists the many historic sites on their social media site, and many people look at the national register when they plan trips and make stops to the see the different historic buildings.

Across the street from the home is a museum of historic items from Weathersfield, including pictures, memorabilia and furniture.

Godleski said she searched for the house that her great-great-grandfather lived in when he immigrated to the United States from Luxembourg in 1855. What she found was a home in complete disrepair and condemned by Weathersfield officials.

Work began on restoring the house by removing all recent additions. All the windows were replaced with wooden frame duplicates that were built in 1840s style by Amish artisans. Because of three fires, the roof was replaced, and ceiling boards were taken from another period home in Kinsman that had the same tongue-and-groove joints. The entire exterior was cleaned, and interior woodwork and fireplaces were uncovered and restored.

Architectural restoration classes at Youngstown State University have used the property as part of their course work.

In recent years, the Mineral Ridge Historical Society has received two Ohio Historical Society markers to be erected in the township.

One marker is about Salt Springs and the Western Reserve and will be placed in Kerr Cemetery off Salt Springs Road. The second on the black band ore found in sections of Mineral Ridge will be placed near the gazebo at the former middle school site off state Route 46.