There is no doubting the fact that the Greenville Inn is very, very old. We have it on quite good authority that it is the oldest tavern in the Western Reserve. Even 25 years ago, we had old timers, now deceased, who used to tell us of their parents coming in to the Inn well before it was in a house on what is now Cedar Street, but rather when it was in a farm house out in the country, but somewhere in the general area of Bainbridge, although further away from the Chagrin Falls location.

This, of course, was before liquor licenses were needed, and well before there were income taxes, or before any real records were kept. We’d also hear of workers at the Patterson Foundry which was along the railroad tracks on Chagrin-Bainbridge Road, popping into the Greenville for a cool ale after a hard, hot day working with molten metal. Even that, however, compared to the overall age of the Greenville, is recent history.

The name of the Inn, after all, is taken from the Treaty of Greenville, that formed the final boundaries of the State of Ohio. This Treaty, entered into by General Anthony Wayne, (sometime called “Mad Anthony” for his many Indian battles, especially the winning of the Battle of Fallen Timbers), signed in 1795, settled many disputes between certain Indian tribes, who were backed, it was believed, by the British. With the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, the doors of Ohio were open to the future, and it is this that probably gave the original owner the idea of the tavern/restaurant name.

With the antiquity of the Greenville Inn quite firmly established, and with the removal of the earthworks upon which the railroad ran, exposing the building to travelers on Chagrin-Bainbridge Road, and considering the recent building of new and attractive office structures in the general area, it was decided to change and improve the façade of Greenville to complement area businesses.

Although Queen Elizabeth I, reigned well before the Treaty was signed, she was the last of the Tudors. Yet the Tudor, or half-timbered architecture persisted well into the 18th century, and indeed is still used today in fine homes and offices. But certainly in 1795, it was all-pervasive, and for that reason this style of architecture was chosen. In actual fact, the façade of “The New Old Greenville Inn” has numerous features resembling that of the Pilgrim Hall, in the Cathedral Close, Winchester, England. The curved diagonal timbers and the diamond-shaped window lights (panes) bear close resemblance to the very old British structure.

Thank you for taking the time to read of this history. It is hoped the building and traditions of The Greenville Inn will add to the history of the area.