A Fire Ravaged a Historic 200-Year-Old Tavern in Ohio. These Are the Artifacts Archaeologists Found in the Wreckage

Excavations at the Overfield Tavern Museum revealed a treasure trove of objects, including jewelry, dishware, a bottle cork, a smoking pipe and early American currency

Sonja Anderson - Daily Correspondent

November 14, 2025 10:21 a.m.

A fragment of a ceramic smoking pipe found on the site Overfield Tavern Museum

In December 2024, a historic tavern in Ohio went up in flames. The 200-year-old building, which had been operating as a museum, has been closed ever since. But the Overfield Tavern hasn’t been abandoned. Instead, archaeologists have been excavating the site, unearthing historic artifacts from early Ohio history.

With the help of volunteers, researchers have discovered part of a smoking pipe, jewelry, buttons and fragments of hand-painted dishware. They also unearthed early American currency, including a penny from 1846 and a 50-cent coin minted in 1817.

“The 1817 50-cent piece was found under the floor inside the tavern and may have been used to purchase a beverage or meal at the tavern when it was in operation,” M. Chris Manning, executive director of the Overfield Tavern Museum, tells Popular Science’s Laura Baisas.

“We also found large amounts of animal bones, particularly pig and fish, which reflects the diet of the early occupants.”

The log tavern was the first building in Troy, Ohio. Overfield Tavern Museum

Founded by Benjamin and Margaret Overfield in 1808, the Overfield Tavern is located in Troy, about 20 miles north of Dayton. As Troy’s first building, it quickly became a cornerstone of a new community. Its downstairs functioned as a tavern, while an upstairs room was used for public forums, political meetings and auctions.

The tavern was operational until 1824, when the Overfields sold the space and moved their tavern business. The old building’s original appearance was restored in 1948, and the tavern became the headquarters of the nascent Troy Historical Society in the 1960s.

In the 1970s, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Quick fact: Ohio’s journey to statehood

Benjamin and Margaret Overfield relocated to the area from Pennsylvania when Ohio became America’s 17th state in 1803.

In recent years, the building has been known as the Overfield Tavern Museum. Before the fire, it functioned as a carefully furnished recreation of the original tavern, offering visitors a glimpse into daily life in early 19th-century Ohio.

A few months ago, museum leaders contacted Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc. (OVAI). As Manning says in a video created by the museum, they were interested in excavating the site before beginning to restore the tavern—a process that will include replacing the floor.

Researchers from Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc. spent ten days investigating the site. Overfield Tavern Museum

In October, OVAI researchers conducted a ten-day investigation of the tavern. After first scanning the backyard with ground-penetrating radar, they excavated a “substantial limestone foundation in the backyard that extends almost six feet underground,” Manning tells Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis.

“[It] was paved on the bottom with a layer of brick flooring.” The team thinks this structure may have been an ice house or root cellar built in the early 19th century.

Researchers searched the dirt beneath the tavern’s floor and other spots in the yard and found many additional small artifacts, including a bottle cork, a clear bead and gun flint, according to the museum’s Facebook page. Multiple animal bones found on the site probably belonged to some of the recorded 78 hogs the Overfields owned in 1810.

A 50-cent piece from 1817 was found beneath the floor. Overfield Tavern Museum

“I would estimate that the number of artifacts recovered is around 4,500,” Manning tells Fox News Digital. “We won’t know until the archaeologists complete their lab analysis.”

Not all the finds date to the tavern’s early years. According to Fox News Digital, some of the recovered artifacts are likely from the late 20th century. Others are much older, including several prehistoric arrowhead fragments, per Popular Science.

Archaeologist Brenda L. Detty, the principal investigator for the Overfield project, says in the video that after the dig, all artifacts will go to OVAI’s lab in Columbus. There, the researchers will analyze the items and write a report.

Ceramic fragments found under the kitchen floorboards Overfield Tavern Museum

The staff of the Overfield Tavern Museum hope to reopen in late 2027. Some of the archaeological finds will go on display at the site.

“Despite the devastation of the fire and the loss of invaluable museum objects, we are excited about the future and the opportunity we have to tell the story of Troy’s original gathering place even better than before,” Manning tells Popular Science.

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