NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — There's a whole lot of history in Northeast Ohio, and some of the buildings here have been around for a lot of it. One of them, the Century Tavern, was built in 1818, just eight years after the first settlers arrived in North Ridgeville.
In that time, it's had several owners, but it's revealing its secrets for the latest one.
“This you really couldn't walk into, and I just decided to open it up. Completely take it back to 1818,” said the owner of the Century Tavern, Thomas Kelly.
In 2019, Kelly bought the old Century Tavern. Much has changed in the two centuries since the first beams were laid, but as he began renovations, the building slowly revealed its hidden history.
That includes the original bricks from when the building was first built, the visible stress on the wood, and a door frame and glass that’s more than 200 years old. But there’s one hidden gem that brings many questions.
“I didn't even know this was here, and suddenly I started pulling a wall back, and I saw a face, and I thought, wow,” said Kelly.
Behind the wall was a painting done on the plaster that shows three Native Americans sitting. Kelly thinks it was painted by a Native American tribe.
Bill Noll with the North Ridgeville Historical Society saids even though the painting doesn't include an artist's name, it is possible a Native American painted it.
“Ridgeville had a tribe of Indians that used to come through here all the time, and they'd stop and do some training in the city,” said Noll.
Kelly believes the painting dates back more than 100 years. He plans to cover the painting with a plastic barrier and preserve it with the rest of the building.
“The place was just like a beautiful woman that just got reincarnated,” Kelly continued, “I hope the old lady appreciates all I’ve done for her" — all so he can give North Ridgeville a piece of history to appreciate.
Now since Tom still isn’t sure who painted the art, Native American historians are asking for pictures of the brush strokes or even a chip of the paint so they can decide which artist or tribe is responsible for creating it.
Kelly hopes to open the Century Tavern by St. Patrick’s Day 2024.
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