The Golden Lamb Hotel and Restaurant is a historic site in Lebanon, Ohio. It is located a couple buildings down the street from the Warren County Historical Society. Originally built in 1803 by Jonas Seaman as a tavern, the establishment has seen Turtle Creek Township since its founding in 1804.[1] It first served to bring the community together and welcome travelers passing through who needed a place to stay.[2] Over the years it received many important guests. People like Charles Dickens and Ulysses S. Grant visited the Lamb. Today these men have rooms named after them.[3] It also survived both national and local historic events like the Civil War and the influx of Shakers into Lebanon.[4]
Robert Jones, Lamb innkeeper starting in 1926, really brought the history to the forefront. He gathered his collection of Shaker artifacts and other antiques to display in the hotel, drawing attention to the Golden Lamb. In fact, in response the Warren County Historical Society formed in 1940.[5] However, today the Lamb does not operate as an official public history site but as a business. There are three museum rooms, though, and a plethora of antiques and informational panels throughout the hotel and restaurant for guests to peruse at their leisure. The oldest known object is a 1729 coachman’s bench located in the lobby. Originally from England, the bench would have been used as a bed for someone’s servant.[6] Nineteenth-century taverns typically required people to share beds, so the sleeping arrangements were nothing like we would expect today.[7] There are many other fascinating tidbits like this about the Golden Lamb. For example, Sarah Stubbs, former innkeeper Isaac Stubbs daughter, is purported to haunt the hotel since she lived there after her father’s passing. There is a text panel about this story in the hotel. The Golden Lamb’s growth from an insignificant tavern to a successful business and historical landmark is fascinating.
[1]Hazel Spencer Phillips, The Golden Lamb(Oxford Press, 1958), 2; H.P. Smith, History of Warren County(Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co., 1885), 433.
[2][2]Kym S. Rice, Early American Taverns: For the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers(Chicago: Regnery Gateway, published in association with Fraunces Tavern Museum, 1983), 69, 79.
[3]The Golden Lamb, “Hotel: Ulysses S. Grant” & “Hotel: Charles Dickens,” Legends Web Works, LLC., 2018, Accessed 4 March 2019, https://www.goldenlamb.com/hotel/general-information-1/.
[4]Phillips, The Golden Lamb, 5, 32.
[5]Donna York, “Lebanon’s Bob Jones (‘Mine Innkeeper’) Honored for His Preservation Work,” The Western Star, 3 October 1984, Page 3B.
[6]John Zimkus, Interviewed by Madelyn Chennells, 21 September 2018.
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