Zanesville, Ohio Motel/ Ohio Hotel
Historical Baker’s Motel – Late 1930’s
The original courtyard rooms, where the cars were parked between the rooms as they are today.
The motel was built by I.B. Baker in – who owned Baker’s Motel 1937 – 1963
Mr. Baker gave the land across the street to the State of Ohio for the Zane Grey Museum in return the state put an exit here, now exit 164 in Norwich, Ohio.
Historical Baker’s Motel – Late 1930’s
In the beginning, the motel was simply cabins, as traffic grew on the National Road Baker’s Motel continued it’s growing. New additions were added in the late ’40s and early ’50s which include adding rooms where there was once parking. Baker’s Motel was one of the first motels on US 40 which is the National Road, today most of the properties that came after Baker’s Motel are now gone and Baker’s Motel is still going strong. Records show the original part of the motel was built in 1937 making Baker’s possibly one of the oldest motels in Ohio still operating.
In talking with some locals it appears that the motel was moved to the top of the hill in 1937 as Baker’s was originally at the bottom of the hill from 1919 till 1937. When we purchased the property in 1980 we noticed that at the bottom of the hill on the right side of 40 was a dilapidated structure that looked like a small motel, always wondered what it was and now we know.
Baker’s Motel – Late 40’s – early 50’s
During this time period, the motel consisted of 41 rooms with the addition of rooms where cars once parked in the ’30s and the wings of the motel were added. Our small building which consists of 4 family rooms was added in the ’50s.
- The motel became a 41 unit motel
- At the time was one of the most modern motels on US 40
- Owned by The Baker’s
Historical Baker’s Motel – 1960
The ’60s brought about a lot of changes in the motel and the area as I-70 opened, the motel added 20 rooms with two beds and the area’s largest pool in front of
this section. Baker’s Motel now consisted of 61 modern rooms.
In 1963 the motel was sold to General Theater Corporation out of Cleveland, Ohio
From 1963-1973.
- The back 20 rooms were added which are large family rooms
- A large swimming pool was added
- Interstate 70 was completed, and an exit for Norwich, Ohio was added
We no longer have a swimming pool.
Ohio Historical Motel / Family Owned and Operated
Baker’s Motel continues the long-standing tradition of providing quality lodging at a reasonable price and has been doing so since the late ’30s, many of the strip motels that came after we are now falling apart structures that have not been operating motels for decades. At Baker’s Motel, we continually upgrade our property offering clean and comfortable accommodations for workers and travelers alike. This year we opened our newest addition to the property, Norwich Antiques, and more which is an Antique and Gift shop for both guests and travelers. Our hours are listed on our Facebook page and Google Listing.
Historical Ohio Motel – Timeline of Ownership
- 1937 – 1963 The Baker family owned the motel along with the restaurant that used to be next door to the motel.
- 1963 – 1973 General Theater Company out of Cleveland, Ohio owned the property, this company owned most of the drive-ins in Ohio.
- 1973 – 1980 Kim Zachary owned the property, kept the property just as it was originally.
- 1980 – Present My family has owned the property and continues to run Baker’s today. We continually update the property but maintain the original look and feel, today the motel consists of 53 rooms where it use to have 61 but we made 8 of the rooms into our Antique Shop.