America 250 Historical Driving Tour | Overland Inn
Stop #4 | Address: 283 OH-53, McCutchenville
Colonel Joseph McCutchen erected the first building in the new town of McCutchenville, platted by Dr. George Sampson, and named for McCutchen. The Pervain House, now known as the McCutchen Overland Inn, was erected during the summer of 1829. It was originally constructed as a hotel and later served as a stagecoach stop along the Harrison Trail. This was a former Indian Trail leading from the Scioto River near Columbus to Lake Erie, which was expanded by General William Henry Harrison in order to accommodate his troops during the War of 1812. McCutchen operate his Inn until January 1845 when he sold the property to Christopher Pierson.
On October 21, 1845, Pierson sold the land and original building to John F. Myers, who added on to the building and operated it as Myers Hotel until April 18, 1918, when it was sold at public auction. Hays Shireman purchased the building and operated it as a boarding house and eventually as an apartment building. The Wyandot County Historical Society acquired the building from the Shireman Estate in 1964.
By the time it was purchased by the Society, the Inn had fallen into disrepair. It took three years for community volunteers to restore the building to its stagecoach days. The McCutchen Overland Inn was dedicated as a stagecoach museum on June 11, 1967. It is one of only two original stagecoach inns remaining in their original locations in the state of Ohio.
Visitors to the Inn will delight in the quaint structure furnished with antiques donated by residents of Wyandot County (and surrounding counties), and retaining the original reception and bar room where travelers registered to spend the night. Touring the Inn will provide an experience of nineteenth century travel throughout Ohio and America.
In 2002, the redecoration of the Inn turned into a second major renovation/restoration stretching out over a four-year period. The Inn’s foundation was reinforced, the log cabin was dismantled log by log, the log cabin foundation was replaced, and the log cabin was rebuilt. Floors were refinished or replaced, and the Inn received a period-appropriate redecoration. An outpouring of support from current and former Wyandot County residents, businesses and organizations, including money collected by McCutchenville school children, provided financial resources as well as volunteer workers to complete the project. The grand reopening of the Inn was held on June 10, 2007. More than 500 people traveled to McCutchenville to join in the festivities.
In 2021, the Anderson General Store was transformed from a storage structure back to its appearance as a store, including a pharmacy section, filled with items you might find in a rural turn of the 20th century store.
Inn Location: 283 State Route 53 North, McCutchenville, Ohio 44844
GPS Location: 40.9898823°N, -83.2605967°W
About “Tracking the Troops, Tippecanoe & Perry, Too!” This driving tour is a five-county collaborative project with Wyandot, Seneca, Sandusky, Wood and Ottawa counties that takes you on a self-guided driving tour following the military trail of General William Henry Harrison during the War of 1812. Harrison would later become the ninth president of the United States and has the shortest presidency, dying from pneumonia one month after having taken the oath of office.
