The Black Horse Tavern rides again
It was 1836, when Elmadorous Crandon opened the Black Horse Tavern in Girard. 180 years later, the Black Horse rides again - a block down the road from its original location.
GIRARD, Ohio - It was 1836, when Elmadorous Crandon opened the Black Horse Tavern in Girard.
"Served as a stopping ground between Youngstown and Warren at the time," said current owner Randy Emery. "Just a place to feed the horses and maybe get a cup of whiskey back in those days."
180 years later, the Black Horse rides again - a block down the road from its original location. Randy Emery bought the place two years ago. He actually found the name on the Girard website. One fact led to another, and that's where the history lesson really began.
"I'm not the history buff, I trained myself I guess," said Emery. "To my own fault, because I spent a lot of time looking information up."
It turned into a full fact-finding mission and pretty soon, the place started filling up with glimpses of the past. It features pictures of Girard more than a hundred years ago, serving as talking points for everyone who walks in the door.
"We don't have a lot of tags on pictures," said Randy Emery. "We want people to ask about it. Hey, what was this?"
"The best ones are, 'Where is that at in Girard, where is it?' Where did that picture come from? And then you kind of start explaining, well that's down the block a bit, halfway down there. Well it doesn't look the same. Because there was a fire," said Randy's brother, general manager Gerry Emery.
While the tavern is a block away from its original location, the current building is packed with history as well. During renovations, Randy and Gerry found a 90-year-old elevator hiding behind a wall - and it still works.
"There was a little hole in the wall and we're looking. I said, there's something back there, but we didn't know what it was at the time," said Gerry.
"The more I looked at it and read about it, I found out FDR had pretty much the exact same elevator size and same company that made it in his summer home, that's the home he grew up in," said Randy.
The elevator is only part of it. There is a full fledged bank vault in the basement, complete with a safe. Another piece of the city's past, in a place that hopes to be a big part of the future.
"The sense of pride is, we're from Girard," said Gerry.
"We'd just like to share it with the community," said Randy. "And not just Girard, but the Mahoning Valley, passers by. It's a neat stop along the way, just like it was probably back in 1836 and 37."
180 years later, the purpose is still the same - and this time, bringing history back to life.
The Black Horse Tavern is located at 100 West Liberty Street in Girard. They just installed a new kitchen, with the full menu available beginning this Tuesday.
But the history lesson, that's on the house.
