TROY, OHIO—More than 18,000 artifacts were recovered during a rescue excavation conducted at a 200-year-old tavern site in western Ohio, according to a WYSO Public Radio report. The Overfield Tavern was constructed in 1808 by Benjamin and Margaret Overfield. “It was where the community gathered to celebrate, to share information, and to spend time together,” said Chris Manning of the Troy Historical Society. The building would have also housed local militia meetings and auctions, in addition to serving as the post office and the courthouse until official buildings were constructed. The building became a museum in the late 1940s, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The structure’s interior burned in 2024, revealing the original log walls. The excavation was conducted as part of the restoration project. One of the objects recovered is a Spanish silver coin minted in the late eighteenth century. It had been pierced so that it could be worn as a good luck pendant, Manning explained. To read about investigations of a colossal earthwork in southern Ohio, go to “Secrets of the Serpent.”
