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When it comes to the best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you’d be hard-pressed to find a location with deeper history than Kelly’s Logan House in Wilmington. The oldest, continuously operated Irish family bar in America is now owned by the family’s fifth generation.
John D. Kelly bought the tavern with his wife, Hannah, in 1889 after the pair met in America and discovered they had lived 5 miles apart in Ireland. It quickly became a popular gathering spot for Irish immigrants, who were guided into their new lives by the tavern’s owners. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Irish immigrants to America had to list their destination on their passports. Many indicated they were relocating to the Kelly’s Logan House. A passport can be seen even today on the walls along with other family pictures.
The structure was named after Union General John A. Logan, who ran for vice president with William Blaine in the 1884 election. The tavern in the center of Wilmington’s Trolley Square was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980…