The Wayside Inns on the Lancaster Roadside Between Philadelphia And
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Philosophical Society, Librarian, Masonic Temple, Philadelphia: Member of American American Library Association, American Historical Association, International Congres des Orienlalistes, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, American Jewish Historical Association, Pennsylvania-German Society, Colonial Society of Pennsylvania, Quatuor Coronali, London SECOND EDITION Lancaster, Pa. 1912 Copyright, 19 15 By Julius F. Sachse _„_ PRESS OF THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY LANCASTER, PA. i Y,tf> FEB 131316 ^1 ( CIA 4 . S911 >u> CONTENTS. Page. Foreword Introduction 5_!4 The Wayside Inns on the Lancaster Road- side from Philadelphia to Lancaster 15-27 The Spread Eagle Tavern Near the 14 Milestone 28-43 The Warren Tavern Near the 20 Mile- stone 44-77 The Blue Ball on the Old Road. The Halfway House between the Schuyl- kill AND THE BRANDYWINE 80-94 The Eleven Taverns formerly on the Lancaster Turnpike between the Eagle Tavern and the Paoli Inn. 95-1 17 The General Paoli Tavern 1 18-149 The Green Tree in Willistown Township Near the 19 Milestone 150-172 The " Ship " in West Whiteland Near the 27 Milestone 173-184 The " Sign of the White Horse," on the Old Road 26 M. 1 Qr. 18 Perches from the Court House, Second and Market Sts., Philadelphia 185-201 Index hi FOREWORD. A portion of this series of sketches of the old Wayside Inns on the Lancaster roadside, was originally published some thirty years ago in the Village Record, at West Chester, the county seat of Chester County, one of the three original Counties of Penn's Colony on the Delaware. These papers gave a description of the old Inns on the Lancaster turnpike, between the "Eagle" near the four- teenth milestone and the old "Ship" Tavern near the twenty-seventh milestone. Many of these facts and incidents were gleaned from time to time, by the writer while yet a lad, dating back some sixty years or more, when an occasional Drove was not an unusual sight, upon the neglected highway—and some of the old Conestoga wagons, were still to be seen under the wagon shed on an adjoining farm. To these sketches, a list has been added of all the Old Inns from the "Fish" at the Schuylkill Ferry to the " Swan " at Lancaster. Illustrated with photographs by the writer of such views of the Old Inns as were standing as late as 1886. In the year 1912-13, these papers were printed as part XXIII of the " Narative and Critical History of the Ger- man Influence in the Settlement and Development of Pennsylvania " in the Proceedings of the Pennsylvania- German Society, and are now republished to meet a wide- spread demand. ILLUSTRATIONS. A Scene on the Lancaster Turnpike Frontispiece. The Buck Tavern facing page 17 The Red Lion " 15 The Blue Ball, Springhouse, Drove and Stage Taverns " 19 The Paoli, Four Views " " 20 The General Washington " " 22 The Steamboat, Green Tree, General Jackson, Toll Booth " " 24 The Rising Sun " 26 The Old Spread Eagle " 28 The Spread Eagle, Four Views 34 The Ship Tavern, Mt. Vernon, two not Identified " 38 The Gallagherville, Gen. Wayne " 42 The Warren, Four Views 44 The Half-Way, Swan, Sheaf, Ship " 46 The Cross Keys, State Arms, Sadsbury, Rainbow. " 50 The Old Moscow, Mantua, The Latta Home- stead, Gen. Wayne 54 The Mt. Vernon, Washington, two not Identified " 58 Views between 43 and 45 Milestone 64 Lancaster in the Early Days 78 The Paoli " "8 Home of Anthony Wayne 124 John D. Evans J 45 Amish Mennonites of Lancaster Co 156 Sergeant Andrew Wallace 166 Camp Wayne I o8 " The Sign of the White Horse 185 Vll THE WAYSIDE INNS ON THE LANCASTER ROADSIDE. ;N provincial or colonial days the most important institution in our commonwealth, next to the church and school-house, was the wayside inn. Scattered as they were along the roadside throughout the province they were important beacons for the weary traveller, as well as a haven of rest and refreshment for the sojourner, whether farmer, drover, teamster or traveller upon business or pleas- ure bent. Many of these tav- erns or inns became important landmarks in both our social and political history, growing in the course of years from the lowly log tavern, to the stately stone turnpike inn of later years, in which important social functions were held. In many instances they were also polling places, and the meeting place of Masonic Lodges and similar organiza- tions. Some also were favorite places for mass meetings 5 6 Wayside Inns on Lancaster Turnpike. and political rallies, where the candidates held forth, occa- sions upon which the barrel of hard cider was ever in evi- dence to slake the thirst of the prospective voter. Many of these wayside inns in Pennsylvania became known throughout the land for their good cheer, cleanli- ness and hospitality. The hosts or landlords of these houses of the better class were almost invariably Germans or Pennsylvania-Germans, and the culinary department was supervised by the wife of the innkeeper. Everyone of these wives was a hausfrau in every sense of the word. Upon her devolved not alone the culinary department but the care and oversight of the whole estab- lishment, except the bar, stable yard, and supervision of the hostlers and reception of the guests, which fell to her husband the landlord. The meals at these inns, such as the Spread Eagle and Warren presided over by the Pennsylvana-German matron, as served were entirely different from the fare set out in the houses kept by other nationalities, for instance where in the other wayside inns, even of the better sort, regular fare consisted of fried ham, cornbeef and cabbage, mutton and beef stews and mush and molasses, bread half rye and corn meal, with occasional rump steak and cold meats, and tea. In these Pennsylva- nia-German inns we had such dishes as Kalbskopf (mock turtle) soup redolent with the odor of Madeira; Saner braten a favorite dish of the Fatherland; Schmor braten (beef a la mode) ; Spanferkel (sucking pig stuffed and roasted) ; Kalbsbraten (roast veal filled) ; Hammelsbraten (roast mutton) ; Kuttlefleck (soused tripe spiced) ; Hinkel pie (chicken pot pie) ; Apfelklose (apple dumplings) ; Bratwurst (sausage) ; applecake, coffee cake with its coat- Social Status of the Old Inns. 7 ing of butter, sugar and cinnamon, and many other dishes unknown to their English competitors. To conduct one of these stands in turnpike days required quite as much executive ability as is required to manage one of the pretentious hostelries of the present day. The proprietors in many cases were men of intelligence and prominence in the community; even members of Congress and State Representatives are to be found among their number. So closely were the lines drawn between the classes of the stage tavern and the wagoner, that no stage tavern would on any account permit a teamster to put up there for the night, for if it became known that a wagoner had stopped there it would be considered a lasting disgrace and would result in the loss of the better class of patrons. From the earliest days in our history there were sharply defined lines in these wayside inns, as each class catered for special custom. Thus those of the better class were known as "stage stands," inns where the travelling public by stage stopped for refreshment, meals, and sometimes rest over night. Here also the relays were changed. Next in the scale came the "wagon stands," taverns " patronized by wagoners or teamsters: here they " put up for the night, feeding their tired teams, and in many cases sleeping upon a bag of hay upon the floor of the bar-room or barn. Another class were the " drove stands," where special accommodations were to be had by the drovers for their cattle, which were here watered, fed or pastured, until they were again upon the hoof towards their desti- nation. Lastly, come the lowest class of the passing wayside inns, the " tap house," where the lowest class of the passing or resident public was catered to. These houses harbored such as none of the other classes would 8 Wayside Inns on Lancaster Turnpike. entertain. The chief income of these "tap houses" came from the sale of bad spirits or whiskey. They were invariably kept by Irishmen. In olden times all distances between cities and places were computed from inn to inn. Thus by referring to any old provincial almanac, tables like this will be found. Copy of an old Distance Table giving a List of Taverns on the old Lancaster Road or King's Highway, which was the Predecessor of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike. Philadelphia to M. Colters Ferry Black Horse Merion Meeting Three Tuns The Buck The Plough Radnor Meeting Mills Tavern The Ball Signe of Adr'l Warren White Horse Downing Mill The Ship The Wagon John Miller at the Tun Pequa Bridge Dougles's Mill Widdow Caldwells "Hat".