A 200-year-old tavern in North Ridgeville is uncovering the mysteries hidden beneath the surface ahead of its grand opening.
Taverns are often places filled with tall tales and colorful characters, but at the Century Tavern, 200 years of stories are etched into the walls, hanging from the original beams, and seeping through the handmade bricks.
“It may sound trivial or really like nothing, but when you're alone and you're just looking at stuff like that, you're talking to these people,” said Tom Kelly, owner of Century Tavern.
News 5 first introduced you to Kelly about a year and a half ago, as he was trying to solve one mystery hidden in his North Ridgeville tavern. What he found was a mural.
RELATED: Possible century-old Native American painting found inside wall of North Ridgeville tavern
“I was just swinging that sludge hammer swinging, and I hit it. I looked down, and just, [it] just caught my eye. I saw nose over hair,” said Kelly.
Who painted it and what it represented were unknown, but Tom was determined to find out.
Today, that artwork is protected by plexiglass and framed with a history of its discovery. The painting is a replica of a famous piece called Chant to the War Bonnet, possibly a nod to Ohio’s Native American roots.
“These are the original Indians that were on the painting, and the names were on there,” said Bill Noll with the North Ridgeville Historical Society.
Noll believes the mural was created in the late 1930s or early 1940s.
“If you look at when plastering was done in the 30s,” Noll continued, “If that was about the time they put the plastering on the walls and stuff, it had to be done after that.” Noll said.
It’s possible the mural was painted by a Native American traveler passing through, but one question still remains:
Why was it painted?
“I hate to say I’ll find out when we die, maybe at the gates of heaven,” said Tom.
But the mysteries don’t stop there. In the basement, Tom believes there’s a sealed-off tunnel that was once part of the Underground Railroad.
“This was the last stop before they hit Lake Erie and crossed to Canada, to freedom,” said Tom.
Piece by piece, the tavern tells a story that spans generations.
“Respect history. I saved it. I mean, so it's so easy to destroy something, throw it away,” said Tom.
Though he never expected to be in the middle of history, Tom is now ready to add his own chapter to the story.
“[If] anybody from anywhere in northeast Ohio wants to stop in, walk in here, you can talk to the walls like I do. And I don't care what anybody says, this represents something good," said Tom.
If you're interested in experiencing a piece of history, the tavern will have its grand opening this weekend, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
