Lawler's Tavern is a historic

commercial building Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

in the village of Mechanicsburg,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. Built in 1830, it is one of the oldest buildings in the community, and it has been named a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

History

Mechanicsburg was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted on 1814 in the wake of increasing settlement, despite the ongoing war.Middleton, Evan P., ed. ''History of Champaign County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions.'' Vol. 1.

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

: Bowen, 1917. In its early years, the village grew slowly; the 1830 census found just 99 residents.Ware, Joseph. ''History of Mechanicsburg, Ohio''.

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

: Heer, 1917. Mechanicsburg's first two buildings were log structures used for commercial purposes: a small store and the village's first

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

respectively, they were both constructed on what is now the southern corner of Sandusky and

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

Streets on the public square. Dr. E.D. Lawler was one of six physicians practicing in Mechanicsburg during the village's earliest years. In 1839, the Champaign County Commissioners began listing the tax-paying physicians of the county in their records, and Lawler was one of thirteen doctors recorded in the county in that year. Virtually nothing is known about any of them except for their profession, although Lawler was the only one of the six early doctors to appear in the 1839 list. However, Lawler is known to have constructed the tavern in 1830; he lived and operated his practice out of the first floor, while the second floor was rented to travellers.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

: Somerset, 1999. In 1840, the tavern was surrounded by Lawler's orchard to the north, a long, low commercial building known as the "Long Ornery" to the south, and an even older

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

on the opposite side of the street. All of its original neighbors have been destroyed; Lawler's is the sole commercial building remaining from the village's earliest years. Even after Dr. Lawler's time, the building remained in use as a medical office; Dr. John H. Clark, who practiced in the late nineteenth century, and who lived next door, used an office in the tavern for a substantial portion of his career. Throughout the tavern's history of more than 180 years, it has seen multiple modifications. Among them was the construction of space for Dr. Clark's office, which was housed in an addition rather than in the original building. Additionally, the tavern's prominent overhang with its large window, ornamented

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

, and

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

was constructed at the end of the nineteenth century.

Architecture

Lawler's Tavern is a brick building with a stone

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Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2007. Accessed 2013-03-05. Many of its more prominent architectural elements combine to make it a typical example of

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

interpretations of the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style of architecture, which never became popular in the area.Recchie, Nancy. ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Mechanicsburg Multiple Resource Area''.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, December 1984. Besides the facade's overall symmetrical design with multi-paned windows, the building derives its Greek Revival appearance most clearly from the central entryway: surrounded by a

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

and

sidelight A sidelight or sidelite in a building is a window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door or a larger window. Sidelights are narrow, usually stationary and found immediately adjacent doorways.Barr, Peter.Illustrated Glossary, 19th ...

s, the doorway is framed by

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s on both sides. Inside, some original components remain, including the stairway and woodwork in the front hallway.

Preservation

As the only commercial building surviving from Mechanicsburg's earliest years, Lawler's Tavern is a core component of the village's historic

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

; along with the former Second Baptist Church, it is one of just two Greek Revival buildings near the center of the village. Spatially, it occupies a transitional place between the commercial and residential neighborhoods of Main Street; the commercial district extends southward, while the next building to the north is the beginning of the village's upscale residential neighborhood. In 1985, Lawler's was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, qualifying because of its historic architecture. It was part of a

multiple property submission The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of Historic districts in the United States, districts, sites, buildings, struc ...

of approximately twenty buildings, scattered throughout the village in such a low concentration that a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

designation was not practical. Several other buildings included in the group were houses and commercial buildings on North Main, such as the adjacent John H. Clark House, the Oram Nincehelser House and the

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

across the street, the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

at the intersection with Race Street, and the Village Hobby Shop a short distance to the south.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Commercial buildings completed in 1830 Buildings and structures in Champaign County, Ohio Defunct hotels in Ohio General practice Greek Revival architecture in Ohio Mechanicsburg, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Champaign County, Ohio Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio 1830 establishments in Ohio