Newcom’s Tavern in Carillon Park is
the oldest building in Dayton that is still standing today. It was built in
1796 for George Newcom, one of the first settlers of Dayton. It served in many
capacities in early Dayton; court, church, council meeting place, and it
provided food and lodging for travelers through Dayton. It was originally built
with a single large top floor and open bottom floor. Through the years a two story
addition was added and the wooden beams were covered. The Newcom’s sold their
tavern in 1815 and it bounced from owner to owner until 1838 when Joseph
Shaffer purchased the property and converted it into a general store. The
building fell out of use sometime after and was scheduled to be demolished in
1894 for space for a new apartment building. However, the structure was saved
when someone revealed the wooden timbers of the building and realized its
historical value. Probably due to the increase in local history interest,
Patterson paid for the tavern to be moved and money was raised to restore the
building. This is when the Dayton Historical Society was first organized. It
became their job to operate the museum which the tavern would house. In 1896 when the house was finally restored
and put on exhibit a Cincinnati Newspaper discussed some of the interesting
items that were found there; Colonel Newcom’s cane, Robert Edgars plat deed
signed by D.C. Cooper, a 100 year old Dutch oven and dishes, teapots and
washbowls used in the 1700’s, John Van Cleve’s violin and many more items.
These items were all dedicated by local community members and it makes me
wonder how they were on exhibit at that time and where they may have ended up
over the years.
In the 1960’s when the Montgomery
County Historical Society combined with Carillon Park, the tavern was donated
and moved to where it sits now. The tavern serves as a historical reminder to
Daytonians. It shows where we first began and how even efforts long ago where
made to save important historical symbols of Dayton.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Interesting Relics Found on
Exhibition in the Newcom Tavern” Sep 16, 1896.
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