The Travellers' Rest Inn is a historic

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

on the main street of Greenfield,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Built in the early 19th century, it has been 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 artist ...

because of its significance in local history. When constructed in 1812, the Travellers' Rest Inn was Greenfield's first stone building. In its earliest years, the inn served travellers at long wooden tables in a large common room. Some arrived by stagecoach; others by boats on Paint Creek, a tributary of the

Scioto River The Scioto River ( ) is a river in central and southern Ohio more than in length. It rises in Hardin County just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets ...

. One year after being established, the community's first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

also set up at the inn, under the supervision of Noble Crawford, who had overseen the inn's construction. After Greenfield's first physician Garvin Johnson married Crawford's daughter, Johnson moved into the old inn, where he set up his

doctor's office A doctor's office in American English, a doctor's surgery in British English, or a doctor's practice, is a medical facility in which one or more medical doctors, usually general practitioners (GP), receive and treat patients. Description D ...

in part of it. The inn closed in 1829. The building was then used as a combined house and office by another Greenfield physician.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 772. Two stories tall, the inn is covered with a shingled

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 aest ...

d roof; it is one

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

wide on the sides and three wide on the front. The Greenfield Historical Society purchased it and moved it to its current location, placing it on a concrete foundation.,

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 Connec ...

, 2007. Accessed 2012-12-17. The Society operates the former inn as its headquarters and as one of several house museums.Greenfield Historical Society Exhibits
, Greenfield Historical Society, n.d. Accessed 2012-12-17. In 1979, the inn was listed on the

(NRHP), qualifying both because of its place in local history and because of its historically significant architecture. The

Samuel Smith House and Tannery The Samuel Smith House and Tannery is a historic residence in the village of Greenfield, Ohio, United States. Built in the 1820s, it has been named a historic site. Greenfield was founded by American Revolution veteran William Robinson Smith, ...

is also on the National Register.

References

External links

Greenfield Historical Society
{{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Hotel buildings completed in 1812 Buildings and structures in Highland County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Highland County, Ohio Defunct hotels in Ohio Former houses in Ohio Former post office buildings Greenfield, Ohio Historical society museums in Ohio Hotels in Ohio Local museums in the United States Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Post office buildings in Ohio 1812 establishments in Ohio