Unionville Tavern project draws support

Although no major restoration work took place at the historic Unionville Tavern this year, plenty of activity occurred behind the scenes to continue raising funds for revitalizing the historic 220-year-old building.

Some of the highlights included securing a state grant and launching a feasibility study on ways to attract larger sources of funding to restore the tavern, which is located at 7935 South Ridge Road in Madison Township.

The revitalization project is being conducted by the Unionville Tavern Preservation Society, which purchased the four parcels making up the historic tavern on Aug. 5, 2014, a day before a tax foreclosure case was to send the parcels to a county auction. The preservation society crowd-funded and received a special donation in order to buy the property for about $90,622. Initial work done inside the tavern after the purchase focused on emergency stabilization to the building’s walls and foundation to ensure that the structure didn’t cave in or create other hazards.

In 2017, the society celebrated the completion of Phase 1 of the Unionville Tavern restoration, which involved installation of a new roof; interior stabilization; re-establishing the portico, or front porch; and refurbishing the portico’s pillars. This project was funded with a $160,000 Ohio Cultural Facilities Grant, which required an $80,000 match. The society ended up raising twice as much as the necessary local match, and used those extra funds for additional building stabilization.

That grant was awarded in 2016, and two years later, the society has received another Ohio Cultural Facilities Grant, which will be used to begin Phase 2 of the tavern restoration.

This time around, the state has allocated $185,000 for the tavern’s restoration and structural rehabilitation, and is requiring a $90,000 local match from the society.

The higher grant amount is welcome news for the society, since Phase 2 of the tavern restoration will be “a little more pricey,” said Brian Horgan, Unionville Tavern Preservation Society vice president of operations.

It’s anticipated that Phase 2 work will begin in spring 2019 and be completed by the end of the year. Phase 2 will include internal structural and foundation rehabilitation and completion of the front portico, including finish work.

In the meantime, the Unionville Tavern Preservation Society has embarked on an initiative aimed at helping it connect with large corporate and foundation contributors. Horgan said the society is working with a nonprofit fundraising organization to identify entities that can make large-scale contributions for the remainder of the restoration project.

At the local level, the society also has held several fundraisers, such as Unionville Derby: A Night at the Races in April at the Geneva Community Center, and the Masquerade Reverse Raffle in October at LaMalfa in Mentor.

“Community events and

“Everyone has got stories associated with the tavern and remain connected to it.” — Brian Horgan

fundraisers not only help to raise the necessary funds to maintain the effort, they connect the tavern to the community and keep our heritage alive,” the society stated on its website.

While fundraising has been a priority for the society in 2018, one smaller improvement project did take place inside the tavern this year. Horgan said volunteers redid the floor and painted walls in the Veranda Room on the east side of the building.

The Veranda Room is the most modern section of the tavern. It was added onto the building about 100 years ago as an open-air porch, and later enclosed and expanded to allow more room for dining.

This year’s renovation of the Veranda Room was a “nice project for volunteers,” Horgan said.

“We’ve been able to clean (the Veranda Room) up, so we as an organization have been able to use it for meetings and such,” he noted.

Looking back at the Unionville Tavern Preservation Society’s efforts to revitalize the tavern since purchasing it in 2014, Horgan said it’s been “a really fun, fascinating and powerful journey” for all members of the organization’s board.

One of the enjoyable aspects of working on the restoration is interacting with people who have such strong ties to the building.

“The tavern is all about stories,” he said. “Everyone has got stories associated with the tavern and remain connected to it.”

Built in 1798, the Unionville Tavern “is possibly the oldest tavern in Ohio and one of the oldest buildings in Ohio’s Western Reserve,” the society’s website said.

Throughout its storied history, the tavern “has served as a place of lodging on the pioneer trail, a frontier post office, a station on the Underground Railroad, and a community center where friends and families have gathered for over 150 years,” the website added.

Thanks to its website and Facebook page, the society stays in touch with people throughout the United States who are captivated by the Unionville Tavern’s past and want to invest in its future.

“We’re very good at connecting with people from all over the country when it comes to donations,” Horgan said.

Looking toward the future, the society’s goal is for the restored Unionville Tavern to serve as an educational, community, and events center that will be a self-sustaining nonprofit venture, according to the group’s website.

While the society’s current cost estimate for completing the restoration project is $4.5 million, Horgan said he and his fellow board members are confident of achieving a successful outcome.

“We used to talk about saving the tavern,” he said. “Now we’ve moved from a ‘Can we do it?’ mentality to ‘How creatively can we revitalize the tavern?’ “

BILL DEBUS — THE NEWS-HERALD The historic Unionville Tavern, photographed on Dec. 3.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN HORGAN The Veranda Room, located on the east side of the Unionville Tavern, was renovated this year as a volunteerdriven project. Volunteers redid the floors and painted the walls in the room, which was added onto the tavern about 100 years ago, first as an open-air porch.