This weekend, we are happy to house a fundraiser in Heritage Hall to benefit the preservation of Unionville Tavern. After a while in the making, under The Unionville Tavern Preservation Society the tavern is getting new life. Currently, the Preservation Society is consulting with Heritage Architectural Associates, of Wheeling, West Virginia, to create the Historic Structures Report and Master Plan (HSRMP), as the organization moves forward with its efforts to protect the 217 year old tavern. The HSRMP is an essential step in the historic preservation process to assess the historic Tavern, develop a plan moving forward, and ultimately, restore and revitalize The Old Tavern.  Find more information on their efforts here.

The Old Tavern originally opened its doors in 1798 as a home. By 1803, it was a stop on the mail route between Cleveland and Warren. One of the Tavern’s greatest stories was during the Civil War. Throughout the war years, the Tavern served as a stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves making their way to Canada. No slave was ever captured in Lake County, but Milton Clarke was ALMOST the exception.

Milton Clarke was a slave escaped from Kentucky and lived in Oberlin, a hot bed of abolitionism. In August 1843, he came to Lake County to speak at an abolition rally in Madison. The day following the rally, Milton was out walking and was captured and beaten by four slave catchers. Before he could be taken away, men from Madison, Painesville, and Unionville united to stop them near the Tavern. The slave catchers were charged with assault and Milton escaped to Canada. From then on, ardent local abolitionists kept their vow that “No slave shall be captured in Lake County.” The incident also helped shape the characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

In 1973, the Tavern was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Tavern is in serious need of repair which the Unionville Tavern Preservation Society has dedicated their entire mission to. The organization is completely comprised of volunteers who have a passion not only for the Tavern, but for the history and legacy of Lake County.

For more information on how to get involved, click here. Special thanks to Barb  Young and her organization for hosting the fundraiser on behalf of the Unionville Tavern Preservation Society. It’s thanks to individuals like Barb that community projects and missions such as this are successful.