For two centuries, one Darrtown saloon continues to serve more than spirits of the alcoholic kind

When the host for open mic night at a bar in Darrtown had just become the father of a baby girl, their first stop wasn’t to go back home.

Instead, he took her to The Hitching Post Saloon. This saloon was, and continues to be, a gathering place for the people of Darrtown and the surrounding areas.

Locals can stop by for a minute, or even an hour, to catch up with one another, chat with friends and grab a drink. It has been in business since 1817, making it the oldest saloon in Ohio.

According to historical records and information about the Hitching Post on Darrtown’s website, the business was founded by Abram Darr. Opened on lot number 52, the business gained its name “because of the large, crude tying rail in front of the tavern-inn,” according to the website.

Since its establishment more than 200 years ago, roughly 17 owners have come to call the Hitching Post their own, the most notable being Earl “Red” Huber. Huber purchased the saloon in the summer of 1949 and would be its proprietor until he died in 1982.

Especially popular were the Christmas parties Huber threw for the younger children of the community. Fred Lindley, who grew up in the surrounding area, recalled Huber giving out candy,  apples and oranges as presents.

Lindley and one of his friends even wrote their own Christmas carol about it, sung to the melody of “We Three Kings:” “We two kids from Darrtown are / bearing gifts from Red Huber’s bar. // Apples, oranges and some candy / make us feel fine and dandy.”

Among visitors to see Santa Claus at the Hitching Post was a close friend of Huber’s and Darrtown native Walter Alston, who also just so happened to be the manager of the then-Brooklyn Dodgers. More than once did signed National League baseballs go out as gifts as well.

These parties did come to attract quite the crowd, as by the late 1950s, Huber resorted to handing out $1 bills after the 1,700 gift packages he provided ran out, according to an article in the trade journal “Buckeye Tavern.”

The following year, in 1958, The Journal Herald reported, “Huber’s friends came from as far as Indianapolis to help him handle the crowd … before Santa was to arrive by helicopter.”

Beyond some of Huber’s astonishing Christmas stunts were his quirky business practices. According to Lindley, Huber had trapdoor-style compartments installed within the ceiling of the first story that could be opened from the floor of the second story, where Huber lived.

At least one of these compartments can be spotted from the seating at the bar today. Then, from the ceiling, one can look left to the floor and see a slight notch in one of the floor boards. A story passed down from owner to owner since Huber’s death, the notch was from a bullet after Huber shot off his gun in the bar to stop an apparent commotion within the establishment.

Today, the commotion is of a different kind. Since coming into the ownership of the Hitching Post in 2022, Evan Cusmano has tried to focus on additional aspects of the bar, such as serving food in the daytime. Since doing so, he said the saloon has seen a larger crowd of families with younger kids, which has, by extension, made the establishment more family-friendly.

Cusmano also hosts various weekly activities at the bar, some old and some new, like open mic night on Wednesdays, trivia night on Thursdays, live performances roughly every other weekend during the summer in the outdoor area behind the building, plus other more raffle-style events.

Juggling all these events, Cusmano said management was not always this easy, as he estimated the first year or two was a learning curve with this being his first entrepreneurial venture.

Even still, the customers and larger community have always been welcoming and happy to assist. When it became rather busy, some customers asked Cusmano if they were allowed to go behind the bar to take out the trash or refill the ice.

“I didn't want to make them do that,” Cusmano said, “But then you have one of those days where you're just completely swamped, and, like, there's five or six people waiting for drinks, and you're like, ‘I don't [care] if [they’re] gonna offer.’ I don't feel bad anymore. I'm too busy.”

“They know where to go. They know where everything [is],” Cusmano added.

During the early morning hours when the bar closes, and a female bartender is working, there are a few regulars who will take out the trash for her and walk her to her car, Cusmano added about the sense of community among the patrons.

Cusmano said owning the saloon has been “fantastic.” Customers have become close friends, and roughly the same 20 people come in on a weekly basis. If someone is sitting in the seat a regular usually inhabits, the person will move to let them have their seat.

It often feels like being in “Cheers,” he reflected.

“It's more of just hanging out with your friends,” Cusmano said. “You just happen to be the one giving them the beer.”