Henry Cushing's 1819 Ohio River tavern
434 First Avenue, Gallipolis, OH 45631
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Modest admission fee; check with the Ohio History Connection or Gallia County Convention & Visitor's Bureau for current rates and seasonal hours.
Access
Limited Access
Historic 1819 building with stairs to upper floors
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1819 · 1819 Ohio River tavern · Lafayette visited 1825 · Jenny Lind performance site · Ohio Historical Society property
Our House was established in 1819 by Henry Cushing as a tavern and inn for travelers using the Ohio River route, in the city of Gallipolis that had been settled by the French 500 in 1790. Cushing famously walked down to the docks and called out to arriving passengers, 'Come on over to our house!,' which is how the inn earned its name.
On May 22, 1825 the Marquis de Lafayette stayed at the Cushings' tavern during his return tour of the United States, and the museum still holds a jacket Lafayette left behind during the visit. In the 1850s Jenny Lind, the Swedish soprano then on a major American tour managed by P.T. Barnum, made a stop at Our House and is believed to have performed in the second-floor ballroom.
Henry Cushing and his sister Elizabeth Cushing Foster operated the tavern until the early 1860s. During the Civil War the building briefly served as a hospital before later becoming a private residence and boarding house. Dr. Charles E. Holzer bought the property in 1933 and donated it to the Ohio Historical Society in 1944. The museum is now operated locally with support from the Gallia County Historical and Genealogical Society.
Sources
Local Gallipolis tradition associates Our House with multiple gentle presences. Witnesses have reported sightings and unexplained sounds across the building's three floors. One frequently retold account, repeated in the Shadowlands archive and in regional ghost-folklore writing, describes a Jenny Lind reenactment performed in the second-floor ballroom during which a candle on the stage swung dramatically in time with the music, far enough that it should have fallen but did not.
Visitor reports of voices, footsteps, and a general sense of being watched have been published in regional paranormal writing and on the museum's own social media. The phenomena reported tend toward the gentle and theatrical rather than threatening.
Visit the 1819 tavern and inn established by Henry Cushing on the banks of the Ohio River. Exhibits include a jacket left by the Marquis de Lafayette during his 1825 visit and the second-floor ballroom where Swedish soprano Jenny Lind performed during her American tour.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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