It is a two-story, 6,202- square-foot home with a three-car garage, a pool, barns and sits on 70 acres of woods and pasture along Wilmington Pike, just north of Feedwire Road. The mansion was built in 1937 for Robert Patterson, nephew of NCR’s John H. Patterson. It was designed by Ellason Smith, a nationally renowned architect, known mostly for his Tudor designs, seen in a number of Oakwood homes, said C. William Hager, president emeritus of the Ohio Preservation Alliance.
Charles A. Dille, a prominent Oakwood pathologist, purchased the home in 1953. His wife, Eveyln, died in 1996, and Charles Dille in 1999, leaving the house and surrounding farm to their eight children in a trust.
Greene County records show the home is appraised at $196,430.
Hager, who once attended parties in the Dille estate, said he would like to see it preserved. But its fate remains uncertain.
“Given the condition of that house, the period of time its been unoccupied, and its location on the property, basically right in the middle of the development plan, it doesn’t appear possible that the house is going to be saved,” said John Cloud, the attorney who represents the Dille family trust.
“Nobody’s happy about it.”
George Oberer Jr., president of Oberer Cos., said his company has a partnership with the family to develop Cornerstone of Centerville. But the project is in limbo while the first developer and family try to resolve a $1.9 million foreclosure lawsuit from Bank of America.
Cloud said the family did consider moving the home, but that became “prohibitively expensive.”
Sisters Susan Dille and Carol (Dille) Caldwell, who live on Dille property east of I-675, Patricia Evanko of Oakwood and their brother John Dille, would like to see the house saved but “they understand we have a contract with Oberer,” Cloud said.
Evanko recently invited Hager to tour the home hoping he could help their cause.
Hager said the house’s slate roof, stone work, copper flashing and downspouts that fit into tiles underground and carry rain water into a cistern, all seem in good condition. “All it needs is a little scraping and painting in places,” he said. “Its stone steps and tile steps were built to last forever.
“When are you going to see a unique example like this by a nationally recognized architect?” Hager asked. “It’s worth preserving, and something people would be proud of.”
For the past 10 years the Dille trust and house have been in the hands of trustee Roger Pfister of Charlotte, S.C., and “he wouldn’t fix it,” Evanko said.
Hager said the house can be saved, just as John Patterson saved Newcom Tavern, Dayton’s first home, paying to have it moved, and the log lean-to of his grandfather, Col. Robert Patterson, an early Dayton pioneer.
“I don’t know this has to be the end,” Hager said. “If the preservationists here and in Washington could be made aware of the high possibility of it being torn down, and if enough people write about it and talk to their congressmen, it could be saved.”
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