Our House Tavern photograph   Save
Ohio Department of Economic and Community Development
Description: This photograph is a view of the front exterior and one side of Our House Tavern, Gallipolis, Ohio, ca. 1960s-1970s. Much of the front exterior is covered with ivy or a similar plant. The three-story brick tavern, built in the Federal style, dates from 1819, when it was built by Henry Cushing and his sister Elizabeth in this Ohio River community. The tavern acquired its popular name because Henry Cushing invited Ohio River travelers to "come over to our house." The Cushing family operated the tavern until the 1860s. Our House was the center of the Gallipolis community’s social life for many years. It featured a taproom, dining room, ladies' drawing room, a ballroom, and accommodations for overnight guests. On Independence Day, 1820, the citizens of the town, after conducting appropriate ceremonies at the court house, paraded to Cushing’s Tavern with a military escort in full regalia. Our House was also the place where General Marquis de Lafayette, then on his triumphant tour of America, was entertained on Sunday, May 22, 1825, by the prominent citizens, an event which has lingered in the city’s memory so vividly that it is customarily marked with an annual event. During the Civil War the building was a receiving hospital. It later became a private residence and then a boarding house. Charles E. Holzer, Sr., M.D., and his wife, Alma Vomholt Holzer, purchased Our House in 1933, refurbished it, and donated it to the state of Ohio in 1944. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06658
Subjects: City and town life; Taverns (Inns); Bars (Drinking establishments); Genealogy & local history; Gallipolis (Ohio); Historic houses
Places: Gallipolis (Ohio); Gallia County (Ohio)