HISTORY

The historical building dates to 1846. The site was originally a farmstead constructed with slave labor with barns and a silo directly northeast of the main building. The original house faced north. During the Civil War the house was used as a hospital. Highway BB, which dead ends not too far north of the building, was the original road that crossed the river and went north to Canton and Quincy. Farmers lost the home during the Great Depression, and Greenwood Cemetery took it over as a caretaker’s dwelling. It had been the home of the cemetery caretaker for years but had been vacant for some time before renovations began.

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The renovations in 2006 added what are now the restaurant’s bar, storage, and wraparound porches on the south and west. When being renovated, there were pine closets on either end of the house that covered up the spectacular hand cut, stone fireplaces. The upper story was taken out to let in light. The upstairs flooring was repurposed as the dining room’s wainscoting, the original pine floors were restored, and original interior doors were used for the front of the bar.  Detailed trim for the entry from the main dining room to the tasting room and around the doorway to the front porch came from a home in Palmyra that was being torn down during the renovation. The trim fits perfectly meaning it is from approximately the same time period, but it is tapered from base to top, meaning it was from a wealthier home. 

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The beautiful hearths at either end of the dining room were the inspiration for the name to be Cole's Hearth Room for the reopening of the restaurant and event space in 2020.