Bob Evans Farm Museum

  “Bob Evans down on the farm” We all know that ditty from the TV commercials however Bob Evans’s first venture was a steakhouse in Gallipolis Ohio. It was opened 24 hours and catered to truckdrivers. Sausage was on the menu but in 1946 sausage was made with scrap pieces of meat, fat, and tendons. It wasn’t very tasty so Bob Evans began making his own using all of the good meat from the hogs. The sausage was a big hit.

   A group of eight family members and friends were involved in the sausage business and bought the farm in 1953. Bob and his wife, Jewel, lived in the 1825 brick farm house which was the setting for many commercials starring Bob, Jewel, and their six kids.

   The house now serves as the museum. All of the rooms, except for the kitchen, have been gutted and the walls are covered with photos and text. Continuous sausage commercials run on an old television and Bob and Jewel show off their products in the kitchen.

    In addition to the house, five log buildings have been relocated to the property and are opened to tour. The interiors are furnished with items appropriate to the 1800s and early 1900s.

  The museum is accessible. One of the cabins has a ramp and it appears that the others will get them eventually. The road is rough gravel and wheelchair users will probably need assistance.

   Bob Evan’s early commercials invited people to come down to the farm and to accommodate everyone who took him up on the offer, a small restaurant, the Sausage Shop, was built on the property. The Sausage Shop is long gone but there is a modern Bob Evans Restaurant.

   The main parking lot is for the restaurant and there isn’t room for large RVs. One long bus/RV space is located along the museum road. RVs up to 35’ will fit in the end spaces of the museum lot.

   Every October a festival is held on the farm with live performances, shows, demonstrations, and fall food treats. RVers are welcome to camp in the fields at no charge. Preparations for the festival had already started, a full week in advance, when we visited. Museum  38.88204, -82.36754