MORRISTOWN, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine were im Belmont County Tuesday, visiting a building that had been a stop on the famed Underground Railroad.

They were visiting the Black Horse Inn in Morristown, celebrating the start of restoration work on the building, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

“When we invest in buildings like the Black Horse Inn, we help turn historic spaces into destinations that people want to visit and experience, and that means more tourism, more support for local businesses, and more opportunities for visitors to see what makes Appalachian Ohio so special,” DeWine said in the release. “Soon, families, school groups, and others will come here to learn, to reflect, and to discover more of what Belmont County has to offer.”

(Governor’s office)

The restoration work will transform this building into the new location for the Belmont County Underground Railroad Museum.

Four million dollars in funding for these renovations comes via the Appalachian Community Grant Program, according to the release.

“Instead of a traditional groundbreaking, participants held lanterns to celebrate the beginning of construction,” the release reads. “Lanterns were often used as a signal of safe havens along the Underground Railroad.”