Smithville Inn: A Historic Landmark

Smithville, Ohio is a small village located in Wayne County between Cleveland and Columbus on state route 585. A local restaurant, the Smithville Inn, is also a historic landmark. The Smithville Inn is prominently located at 109 West Main Street near the traffic light in the center of the village on route 585. There is parking on the street in front and on one side of the inn as well as a parking lot on the south side of the inn. The inn is open Tues.-Sat. from 11:30am - 7:30pm and Sunday from 11:30am - 7:00pm. The inn is closed on Monday. Phone: 330-669-2641.

The Smithville Inn was built in 1818 and served as both stagecoach stop and inn. Many guests received a comfortable place to rest, good food and a peaceful night's sleep at the inn. This popular stop on the stagecoach route between Akron and Wooster was a site for a campaign speech by William McKinley. Both President William McKinley and President Franklin D. Roosevelt enjoyed meals at the Smithville Inn. These presidents are among the many to enjoy the hospitality of the inn.

The Smithville Inn no longer offers lodging to guests but continues to offer family style meals and local favorites such as biscuits, applebutter, salad, chicken, Inn Maid noodles, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy and desserts. The menu offers specials, plates or family style meals. My favorite is the chicken salad plate. The biscuits melt in your mouth and the applebutter only makes them even more delicious.

When you enter the inn you will notice the displays of glassware, chicken figurines and local items of interest on display. There are historical pictures of the inn through the years hung on the wall.

You can see the stairs where the guests from the stagecoach would have made their way to their rooms for the night. The rooms are not open for viewing and the inn serves only as a restaurant now. It is still interesting to view the lower floor and to imagine the inn as it was when it served the many travelers on their journey.