The Century Inn Story

We are one of the first carriage stops in Hamilton County. The Century Inn was built in 1806 by Andrew Van Dyke.  The Inn consisted of two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs.  The drivers or riders would leave their tired horses in the large barn that had room for 200 horses.  They would get fresh horses and continue their trip to Cincinnati or to Hamilton or Springfield.  Then, on their return trip, they would pick up their own horses.  Andrew Van Dyke died around 1840, and eventually his grandson William Wiley took over and ran the Inn.  William renamed it the Farmer's Hotel, because of the many farmers who would pass through here with horse drawn wagons of goods going to market, in downtown Cincinnati.

In 1871 Paul Hartmann purchased the Inn and called it the halfway house, as it was halfway between Cincinnati and Hamilton.  Then in 1880, John Arns, a German immigrant, purchased the hotel and named it the Old Inn.  Later, it was called Wheelman's Rest, as it was a stopping place for bicycle racers to rest after the long pull uphill from Wyoming.

John Arns ran business until 1906, when his son Harry M. Arns, took it over and renamed it the Century Inn, since at that time the Inn was 100 years old.  The large barn was no longer needed for horses, as trolley cars came into use.  Harry then decided to start a dairy with 60 cows.  It was called Summit Dairy, and it served all of Glendale. Harry also started the restaurant, which is still operating today.

Harry Arns died in 1938, and his son John L. Arns ran the Inn until 1958, when he conveyed ownership to his sister Edith Arns Harris Brownfield.  Edith ha run the restaurant for twenty years, when she passed ownership to her son, Logan Brownfield.

Logan ran the Inn until the late nineties, when he sold the business to Steve & Teresa Schuholz.  In 2005 Ken Anton purchased the business, and in October of 2012 Greg Ready, the present owner, relocated from Indianapolis, to his hometown of Cincinnati, to purchase and run the Inn.  Greg then met his wife Dee at the restaurant in 2013. 

Century Inn has been Greg's labor of love. He considers it a pleasure and a privilege to be able to offer great food, a welcoming atmosphere, and a piece of Ohio's historic past to his guests.  We hope you enjoy your visit to one of Ohio's oldest Inns!