Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens

Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens An inclusive place that inspires and enriches lives through history, nature, and community.

Once a stagecoach stop on Buffalo-Cleveland-Detroit post road, today Dunham Tavern Museum is the oldest building still standing on its original site in the city of Cleveland. The 1824 home of Rufus and Jane Pratt Dunham in MidTown Cleveland is a designated Cleveland Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In stark contrast to the cityscape that surrounds it, the museum and its

gardens offer a glimpse of history and insight into the lifestyles of early Ohio settlers and travelers.

02/01/2025

The Museum will be closed tomorrow, Sunday, February 2. We will see you for tours again on Wednesday. Thank you!

01/22/2025

The Museum will be closed today, Wednesday, January 22, due to extreme cold. Regular hours will resume on Sunday. Stay warm!

Happy Holidays from Dunham Tavern! We will be closed to spend Christmas and New Year's with our families and friends. Ou...
12/24/2024

Happy Holidays from Dunham Tavern! We will be closed to spend Christmas and New Year's with our families and friends. Our offices will reopen on January 2 and we will reopen to the public for tours on January 5. We'll see you next year!

Missing the flowers yet? Take a look at our gallery of 2024 flower arrangements! Over the past year, fresh flower arrang...
12/13/2024

Missing the flowers yet? Take a look at our gallery of 2024 flower arrangements!

Over the past year, fresh flower arrangements have made Dunham Tavern look more "lived in", and brought the gardens and museum together. Learn about the art of Ikebana that our Museum Assistant Duncan V. uses to arrange flowers, and enjoy some tips on how to improve your own arrangements next year!

Flower arrangements have breathed life into Dunham Tavern in it’s bicentennial year!

Thanks to all who visited the Museum this weekend for a Yuletide Past! Our festive decor is still up and we are open for...
12/11/2024

Thanks to all who visited the Museum this weekend for a Yuletide Past! Our festive decor is still up and we are open for tours today from 1-4 pm!

12/03/2024

This show your support for Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens and the preservation of Cleveland's history!

Send a message to learn more

The Museum is open today from 1-4 pm. Bring a friend!
12/01/2024

The Museum is open today from 1-4 pm. Bring a friend!

Happy Thanksgiving from Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens! We hope you are enjoying all the traditions, new and old, that a...
11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving from Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens! We hope you are enjoying all the traditions, new and old, that are dear to you and your family.

The Museum is open today from 1-4 pm!
11/27/2024

The Museum is open today from 1-4 pm!

The 25th of November is Rufus Dunham's birthday! Read all about his life, based on the latest research, in this new blog...
11/22/2024

The 25th of November is Rufus Dunham's birthday! Read all about his life, based on the latest research, in this new blog!

The 25th of November marks the 231st Birthday of Rufus Dunham.

Address

6709 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH
44103

Opening Hours

Wednesday 1pm - 4pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Telephone

(216) 431-1060

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A place for history, nature, and community in urban life.

Once a stagecoach stop on Buffalo-Cleveland-Detroit post road, today Dunham Tavern Museum is the oldest building still standing on its original site in the city of Cleveland. The 1824 home of Rufus and Jane Pratt Dunham in MidTown Cleveland is a designated Cleveland Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In stark contrast to the cityscape that surrounds it, the museum and its gardens offer a glimpse of history and insight into the lifestyles of early Ohio settlers and travelers.

The Dunham Tavern became a social and political center facilitating parties, turkey shoots and meetings of the Whig party. The Dunham’s sold the Tavern in 1853, but it continued to serve as a tavern until 1857 when a banker bought it for his home. Amazingly, this residence stood through Euclid Avenue’s rise and fall. Stagecoach stops to car dealerships, Millionaire’s Row to urban renewal . . . Dunham Tavern has remained.

In the 1930s the Tavern served as studio space for a group of WPA artists and printmakers. The Society of Collectors, organized in the early 1930s, became interested in the historic site and eventually took responsibility for the structure, opening it to the public in 1941. Dunham Tavern is now a nonprofit museum supported by individual donations, grants, sponsorships and the generosity of the Museum’s members and visitors.

A stroll along our Heritage Trail adds another dimension to your visit. Surrounded by industrial and commercial development, the museum is a reminder of the Western Reserve as it once was. Our 900 ft. path features depictions of early settler life along with a stagecoach, log cabin, and community gardens featuring 1800s landscaping and local vegetables.