History Finds A New Home At Morristown’s Black Horse Inn
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MORRISTOWN - The Underground Railroad Experience at the Black Horse Inn will soon be open in Morristown.
On Wednesday morning, Belmont County Tourism Council Executive Director Jackee Pugh announced that the historic museum will be opening its doors to the public on Nov. 13.
Formerly known as the Underground Railroad Museum, the new name comes from merging the museum and its new location, the Black Horse Inn, which is located at 203 E. Cross St.
Pugh informed the Belmont County Board of Commissioners during its regularly scheduled meeting that the museum will be hosting its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.
She added that Gov. Mike DeWine will be in attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony just as he was at its groundbreaking ceremony in June 2025.
In 2024, the Underground Railroad Museum received $3.9 million from DeWine’s Appalachian Community Grant Program. The program is part of a $154 million investment in Appalachian downtowns and destinations.
The Underground Railroad Museum has been located at 121 E. High St. in Flushing since being founded in 1993. The museum was founded by the late Dr. John Mattox and his late wife, Rosalind Mattox.
As a way to honor Mattox, the new museum will have a bench with a statue of him right in front of the entrance.
Museum Director Kristina Estle said that Mattox used to sit outside on a bench at the museum in Flushing and watch the cars go by.
"I would sit there with him for hours and people would stop and wave or even join us," Estle said. "It’s an amazing way to commemorate Dr. Mattox's years at the museum."
She added that the bench will allow museum visitors a chance to sit with him and feel his presence with the statue.
The grant received in 2024 has allowed the museum to move into the Black Horse Inn, which was built in 1807.
The inn is one of the last remaining inns and taverns on the Old National Road. It is believed to have also been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
"This is such an exciting opportunity for Belmont County because it truly is combining two cornerstones of our history with one of the last remaining stagecoach inns on the original National Road built in 1807," Pugh said. "We have a rich underground railroad history right here in Belmont County. It is taking these two historical cornerstones and combining them together, and creating a unique experience for visitors like none other."
She added that the museum will be opening the main floor, which will open to the public in November, but the second phase of the project, which is creating Airbnb units on the top floor, will be open in 2027.
"That will create the full "Night at the Museum" experience, something that travelers can’t get any other place around here," Pugh said. "It really is creating a destination combined with a world class museum. It’s putting Morristown on the map in a really significant way."
She added that the project would not have been made possible without the help of all of the partners that came together, such as the Morristown Historic Preservation Association, the Belmont County Port Authority, the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing, the state of Ohio, Gov. DeWine, Buckeye Hills Regional Council, Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association and the Belmont County Board of Commissioners.
"This would not be possible without all of the support from all of these great minds coming together to really bring this project to fruition," Pugh said. "Without their support, this would have never happened."
She added that she's spent nearly a decade doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work to make the project happen, and she couldn’t be more incredibly proud to see the exhibits being installed and the artifacts being put in place.
"This is a full-circle moment from the renderings that we’ve looked at for months on end to actually being experiences that you’re able to go and be inside of," Pugh said. "It’s an amazing thing, and I cannot wait for these doors to open for visitors and residents to be able to come experience this as well."
Grae-Con Construction, which is overseeing the renovation of the more than 200-year-old building, while COSI and Fire Watch Design were tasked with curating the museum as well as installing the exhibits.