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Director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia visits future Morristown site of Underground Railroad Museum

MORRISTOWN — Multiple people who helped ensure the Underground Railroad Museum’s future move to the Black Horse Inn got the opportunity to tour the building Wednesday.

“Today’s an amazing day to get to tour the Black Horse Inn and bring together all of the stakeholders that really have made this project happen,” Belmont County Tourism Council Executive Director Jackee Pugh said.

Partners from the Morristown Historic Preservation Association, representatives of The Underground Railroad Museum Board of Directors, members of Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association, Morristown Mayor Heather Stitt joined the Director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia and former Ohio senator John Carey at the site.

Pugh said that the tour of the historic structure was a great opportunity to bring everyone involved in making the project possible into the building and give them a chance to talk about the vision and excitement that is growing for the project.

One of the goals for the museum is to create immersive exhibits.

“One of the great parts of this project is we are being funded to work with an exhibit designer who will curate the existing collection of the Underground Railroad Museum, but to make it adaptable to tell the story of the Underground Railroad not only here in Belmont County but in the region and in the county,” Pugh said. “Not only will you be able to come and read and learn the information, but you’re going to be able to touch artifacts and actually be a part of some of the exhibit spaces and feel like what it felt like to be a slave trying to get to freedom.”

In May, the Underground Railroad Museum was awarded $3.9 million by the Appalachian Community Grant Program. The grant will be used to renovate and restore the Black Horse Inn to become the new home for the Underground Railroad Museum in 2026. The museum is now housed in a 1930s bank building in Flushing. That building has structural issues, including a leaky roof.

The Black Horse Inn, located along Main Street in the village along the route that used to carry the National Road, was built around 1807 as a smaller structure, according to information available at Ohio.org. Additions to the structure came later as the building served as Duncan Morrison’s tavern. It is reputed to have been part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. It has operated as the Horner House, Wright Hotel and Shriver Hotel and is now owned by the Morristown Historic Preservation Association.

Carey, through the Ohio Department of Development was the driving force behind awarding the $3.9 million grant to the Underground Railroad Museum. The project was selected as part of the Appalachian Downtown and Destinations Program, which was announced by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on May 6.

Carey said the Underground Railroad Museum was selected after the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks was recently named a World Heritage Site.

“We want people to visit that site and then other sites in Ohio. So we’re kind of using that as the main attraction, but once they’re here they’ll be able to come to Morristown and other attractions,” Carey said. “We hope to bring more economic development, more community pride and make the community more attractive.”

Carey also believes that supporting projects like the Underground Railroad Museum’s move is an important way to tell our history.

“Today is very significant for a lot of people in this area because what you have is an historic organization that was formed by a pillar of the community moving into a historical building that was maintained by other pillars of the community. So this is kind of a sustaining vision for multiple people in the community that were very passionate about supporting this area,”

John Mattox Jr., chairman of the board of the museum, said.

The Underground Railroad Museum was founded and curated by his late father, John Mattox Sr., who died in 2019.

“The museum started out in an apartment with just a room of cameras and it really turned from a hobby into a museum,” the younger Mattox said while reflecting on the passion his father had for the Underground Railroad Museum.

Key members of the tour Wednesday were museum Director Kristina Estle and Morristown Historic Preservation Association Vice President Pamela McCort. They took the crowd around to each room and gave brief details about what their goals for the museum are. The pair also took questions and expressed their excitement about the future of the museum.

Estle said she was very excited to be able to not only meet the people responsible for making the project happen, but to also give them a tour of the Black Horse Inn.

“When you do these grant applications, you don’t know who’s looking at the application. Then when the time comes and you’re awarded, getting to actually meet these people and them seeing all of the hard work and what’s going to happen is so crucial,” Estle said. “I’m just grateful that they all came out to see it, and that shows that they care about our project and care about the little guy, which is a really good feeling.

“Dr. Mattox would be honored for his legacy to carry forward within the Black Horse Inn. By moving closer to I-70, the museum will see an increase in visitors and remain sustainable for years to come,” states a Belmont County Tourism pamphlet outlining the goals for the new and improved Underground Railroad Museum.

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