Located on Lawrence Street between Second and Third Street in Ironton, Buckeye House was surrounded by other businesses. E. F. Moore’s cigar store was located behind the hotel. D. C. Davis’s dry good store was across the street.
Buckeye House was one of the first hotels in the newly established Ironton. Ironton House was the first hotel. Buckeye may have been the second.
An advertisement in the Ironton Register 15 August 1850, stated T. Cochran was the manager. However the previous year, David Cochran was listed as the proprietor. In fact, David was not only the proprietor, he was also the builder. Originally from Burlington, he was well known as a painter.
In its early years, the Buckeye House had many guests. Some of its first boarders were the men who were employed in building the town of Ironton. Buckeye House offered rooms to rent as well as a convenient stable for horses. M. Greenwood would be one of the men who kept the stable for the hotel.
The hotel’s landlord was Henry Stone. He was a confectioner who gained success living in Chicago, Illinois.
By 1872, the hotel had switched owners. T. J. Davis was the owner by then. He found himself sued in June 1872 by Mrs. Justice. According to Mrs. Justice, he husband had bought whiskey at the hotel before he stumbled out of the building. He was later killed by a train. She contended that is was the fault of the hotel for providing her husband the alcohol. The court agreed with Mrs. Justice and awarded her $9,000.
Six years later, Buckeye House found itself at the center of a criminal investigation. Charles Fillgrove was convicted in March 1878 for manslaughter. Fillgrove had been in a fight with Mr. Helwig in the hotel. During the altercation, Fillgrove stabbed Helwig. For his crime, Charles Fillgrove would be sentenced to the Ohio Penitentiary for one year.
Resources:
Buckeye House (ad). Ironton Register (Ironton, Ohio), 8 August 1850.
John Connelly, Veteran Plaster, Remembers. Ironton Register (Ironton, Ohio), 2 February 1905.
Kouns, Sharon M., and Martha J. Kounse. Old Crimes Book One: Lawrence County, Ohio. Vol. 1, Independently Published, 2019.
Mr. David Nixon Retires. Ironton Register (Ironton, Ohio), 13 August 1908.
Mixed Court and Police Happenings. Ironton Register (Ironton, Ohio), 28 March 1878.
Story of the Glorious Past One Hundred Years: 1849-1949, Ironton Ohio Centennial, Official Souvenir. Ironton, Ohio: Ironton Centennial Commission, 1949. Print.