Owner of bed & breakfast shares what life’s like in historic Mesopotamia
There’s a Trumbull County township on the National Register of Historic Places that’s also the fourth-largest Amish settlement in the country, with roots and traditions dating back to the 1800’s.
Darcy Krolikowski Miller is the owner of Old Stone House Bed and Breakfast, first established around 1815 in Mesopotamia Township.
“It’s a little over 200 years old. There have only been 10 families now that have lived here in the Stone House,” she said. “I love the wide open spaces here, and I love hearing the sound of horse and buggies going down the road.”
The Old Stone House sits on seven acres along Western Reserve Road, surrounded by pastures and farmland with Amish residences and fresh produce stands nearby.
Mesopotamia was established in 1798, with a village center known as the Commons consisting of several pre-Civil War era buildings.
“Some people think that there’s nothing to do out here, but oftentimes I’ll make an itinerary for my guests. I have a friend who does Amish tours, all personalized,” Miller said. “She’ll take [guests] to Amish businesses where she knows the people personally, and then she’ll arrange for a private Amish lunch in their home.”
Miller highlighted Mesopotamia’s local and nearby attractions, including Between Two Rivers Trading Company and Servants of Mary Center for Peace in Windsor which she described as “almost like being on holy ground.”
“You step back in time here,” she said. “We have wonderful bike paths, and I’m surrounded by wineries. I feel I don’t lack for anything. I’m blessed with so much here, and that’s why I like living out here.”
Miller recommends guests visit The End of the Commons General Store, which first opened its doors in 1840.
“It’s a big draw now, as the oldest general store in Ohio,” she said. “He has everything, and just opened up a chocolate factory. I mean, how can you beat that?”
According to Miller, a stone quarry running from Lake Erie down to the Ohio River right in the area of Mesopotamia attracted people to the area ealy on.
“Many of your foundations, including in Warren, were quarried right from this quarry here of sandstone. That’s where Old Stone House came from,” Miller said. “When redoing the house and retrofitting it, I left a lot of the beams exposed. Nothing really has been changed in the Stone House, except for new plumbing and new electric.”
There are a total of seven bedrooms available to rent in the Old Stone House Bed and Breakfast.
“We did put it on an addition in 1997 and that can be divided in half,” Miller said. There is a historic steel door that’s three inches thickthat can be closed off so each one can be individually rented if necessary. There’s a sitting area that overlooks the fields and if I happen to not be there, I have keyless entry.”
Many of Miller’s guests are repeat visitors or they’ve found out about the Old Stone House online.
“They all say, ‘I love it. Don’t change the thing here,’” she said. “I thought that people would get tired of the Amish, but I found out that they’re just so curious and want to learn. You always get home cooked food and there are great restaurants.”
