Image of Griswold Inn Cabinet

This image of the interior of the Griswold Inn was obtained from a series of negatives converted to digital images. The Griswold Inn stood on the east side of High Street, just north of the Village Green, and was built by Ezra Griswold in 1811 to offer travelers a place to stop. Ezra operated the inn until 1816, when he passed it down to his son, George H. Griswold. The structure was later converted from a tavern and inn into a residence, where Ruth Griswold, the last of the family to occupy the building, lived. Though the Griswold Inn Historical Foundation attempted to raise funds to purchase and restore the inn to use it as the Worthington Historical Society Museum, the building was razed in 1964. Gilbert Coddington, an architect who ultimately helped the Historical Society restore the Orange Johnson House, captured this image series before the demolition of the inn.

This image shows a built-in cabinet, which appears to be to the right of a fireplace. It likely functioned as a china press. The pilasters are reeded and similar to carpentry at the Orange Johnson House. Other Federal-era homes in Worthington that still remain have similar built-in features including 12 E Stafford and the Orange Johnson House. This particular cabinet shows signs of repair, as although much of the carpentry is Federal in style, the hinges and drawer pulls, as well as the drawer itself, appear to date later than the cabinet itself.