Take a trip back in time and discover one of the few original early American taverns left on the old National Road.  Built in about 1820, it served as a tavern on one of the main trails of the westward bound pioneers during the transcontinental surge of the early 1800's.  Along this road, many inns sprang up to serve the travelers.  No one knows exactly why the tavern was named the Pennsylvania House, possibly it would have resulted from the homesickness of an early innkeeper whose native state was Pennsylvania or from a desire to attract the numerous Pennsylvanians traveling on the National Road.

Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay and Thomas Corwin stayed at the inn during its heyday.  Dr. Isaac Funk, founder of the well-known Funk and Wagnalls, lived there as a boy when his family operated the inn in the 1840's.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and holds one of the best collections of Early American antiques of the period in the State of Ohio.  On display are numerous unique varieties of very early quilts from eighteenth-century trapunto, fine linen with examples of early pulled thread handwork to outstanding quilts of many designs.  Inside, the visitor will see the drinking tavern, several collections of early American dolls, early fine furniture, box collections, period clothing, fine examples of early American paintings and portraits.  The three-story house has four porches, sixteen exterior doors and twenty-three rooms all filled with period pieces.  Of special interest is the third floor where one can discover the drover's rooms and craft rooms where wool was spun and quilts were made.

A room on the second floor of this tavern a collection of more than 100,000 buttons.  It is considered one of the largest and most unique button collections in the country.  A visitor could spend hours studying buttons from all periods of American history.  People come from all over the world to see early buttons made of shell, military buttons, hand-painted and enameled buttons, and some of the most unusual buttons ever made.

This house is a must see for those who love to be transformed into the early days of Ohio's frontier.  It is open to the public ON THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH, except New Year's Day and Easter and closed January and February except by appointment.  THEY SCHEDULE TOURS ON A DAILY BASIS BY APPOINTMENT (minimum of 10 people).

Note**  Museum is currently closed for renovation

Admission is $3.00 for Adults
Children 6 to 12 $1.00 (Under 6 years FREE) - To schedule a tour or to learn of special seasonal events, call 937/322-7668.  The Lagonda Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution is proud to have saved this important part of American history.

** Photos courtesy of the Turner Foundation and Lagonda Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution

The Pennsylvania House Museum
1311 West Main Street
Springfield, Ohio  45504

Visit  http://www.restorespringfield.org/penn/ for updates on the Pennsylvania House renovation.