I've written about Michigan taverns before in a few other blog postings. And though they were meant to be about 19th century Michigan taverns overall, they tended to center on the Eagle Tavern. But I've never given this tavern its own true single posting of its own. It's always been included with other Michigan taverns. So I want to rectify that mistake, and for this week's post we shall have an article that can be added to my ever-growing collection of postings about bringing historical structures inside Greenfield Village to life. And to do so for this post I snatched bits and pieces from all previous Eagle Tavern accounts and mixed them all together with my own research to have one concise chapter. In fact, as I sorted through the copied research from the Benson Ford Research Center, I looked at their bibliography and located books where the researchers themselves garnered information!
Yep - - there is a lot of research here!
Oh, and, as always, there are loads of pictures to accent this journey to the past.
I hope you enjoy your stay.
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What would you do if I told you that you could not only dine in a tavern that was built nearly 200 years ago, but that you could enjoy the same atmosphere and fare as if it were 1850?
Two words: Eagle Tavern. The Eagle Tavern became nothing but an eyesore and was ready to meet the wrecking ball until Henry Ford saw it.
So how did this once dilapidated, nearly razed pile of broken wood become a jewel in the crown of Greenfield Village?
You'll have the answers momentarily.
But first, let's give a little bit of history of this Eagle Tavern and of the time it was an important stop on the stage coach travel route to western Michigan, for there's a story to be told about this wonderful old inn...
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| Did you know that this Tavern went by numerous names in its long history? |
I've written historical postings about my home state of Michigan often. In fact, at the bottom of this post you will find links to them. And though Michigan would have eventually become a state, I do not believe statehood would have come as early as January 1837 if it weren't for the Erie Canal, for before the Erie Canal, transportation to Michigan by water was "dangerous, unreliable, and fraught with discomfort." Navigation on Lake Erie was regarded as more dangerous than on the Atlantic. Accommodations for passengers were poor. To reach Detroit from the south by land it was necessary to cross the Black Swamp in northwestern Ohio (click HERE and scroll down a bit to read about this Black Swamp). In rainy periods the swamp was virtually impassable. The horrors of the swamp were widely publicized. At a time when plenty of good land was still available in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, there was little incentive for the pioneer to brave the hazards involved in getting to Michigan.
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| Heading west from the riverport city of Detroit. |
So with the completion in 1825 of the Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River, it was an event of major importance in Michigan history because it greatly facilitated the transportation of passengers and freight between the eastern seaboard and Michigan ports. Although originally intended to mainly haul goods and freight, immigrants from the east coast soon discovered that traveling west was faster and cheaper on the canal than by carriage. For the first time, New England families, anxious to leave rocky and infertile fields for richer lands in the West, had a route for reaching the "promised land." And to travel further inwards into the state, one had to take a stage line through the thick forests.
So it was early in the 19th century that a stage line was operated between the growing city of Detroit and the small hamlet of Tecumseh, a distance of about 75 miles, on what was originally an Indian trail. With the coming of the early settlers from the east, however, it became the settler's route as well. The road eventually extended clear to Chicago, and it became known as the Chicago Turnpike.
Part of the road was corduroy (or log road), which was made by placing sand-covered logs perpendicular to the direction of the road, usually over a low or swampy area. The result was an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet was a very bumpy ride in the best of conditions and a hazard to horses due to loose logs that could roll and shift, and vehicles broke down because of this rough ride upon the logs. Sometimes stagecoach passengers had to get out and walk.
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| Moving up to the Eagle Tavern. No corduroy road here! |
And the number of immigrants traveling west on these roads increased dramatically. So much so that in 1831 a second stage coach stop heading west out of Detroit was erected in a tiny hamlet known as Clinton, and this inn was originally Christened Parks Tavern.
More taverns were built along the way soon after.
Semi-weekly stages were tried first, but daily coaches soon followed and, before long, there was double daily service, with extra coaches often necessary.
I should like to present here a description of what it was like traveling by stage on this Chicago trail. In the words of Levi Bishop from 1835: "I started west from Detroit in a stagecoach. I had to secure my seat three days in advance. This was when the land speculation fever began to rage somewhat extensively. When the time came, I started west on the old Ann Arbor Road. We broke down once on the way, but there happened to be a wagon maker on board and he repaired the damage in about 15 minutes. We made nine miles the first half day."
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| As traveling increased, taverns were built along this route. As time went on there was also an increase in the number of stage lines. |
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| Advertisement for Michigan stagecoach travel. |
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| Your first step inside the tavern. |
This Parks Tavern offered food and drink for the weary traveler, who could also find a place to sleep in one of the 2nd floor rooms. The rooms contained several beds in each, with two or three people - who were often strangers - sharing sleeping space. The bedrooms, at times, could be filled frequently to overflowing so that not only were the beds filled, but floor space was taken as well. In fact, it's been known for a traveler to even sleep on a table!
People of all types and classes mixed together in taverns, and here patrons ate at a common table, slept in common bedrooms, and socialized in common rooms. There was little privacy.
Depending on availability, men and women were usually put in separate rooms, even if they were married; unlike today's motels, there wasn't a large capacity of rooms to let, and to force three or four people to sleep elsewhere - perhaps upon the dreaded chair or table - just so a man and a woman could sleep together in one room would hardly be worth anyone's while.
However, since most of the travelers were men, it wasn't often a huge problem.
As Michigan's population continued to grow, travelers continued to arrive at the Parks Tavern only to leave the next day, some finding their coach experiences a bit more uncomfortable and even more treacherous than expected. Travel in the old days was arduous; roads were full of ruts, bogs, and tree stumps. A stagecoach driver's goal was to travel as many miles as possible in a day, but many times there were complications. As one traveler in the 1830's pointed out, "As soon as we had entered the woods, the roads became as bad as, I suppose, roads ever are. Something snapped, and the driver cried out that we were 'broke to bits."
Another travel story tells of a stage that left this very tavern for the west one morning loaded with passengers. The road was very muddy and the coach had managed to get a mile from the tavern, so the passengers decided to walk back to the tavern to spend the night. Early the next morning they returned by foot to the coach. During that second day of travel the stage got three miles from the tavern. Again, the passengers trudged back to the tavern to sleep and perhaps have a meal as well. On the third day, the coach must have reached the next tavern, for the passengers did not return.
By 1837 there was finally a large enough population to make Michigan a state (though it could have happened earlier, actually, but due to the Toledo "War", statehood was held up for a bit, but that's another story). And, yes, taverns such as this had their role to play in Michigan's statehood.
Parks Tavern was renamed the Eagle Tavern in 1849, affectionately known as "The Eagle", and that name remained until the Civil War.
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| A good friend of mine had this painting hanging in his house and he allowed me to photograph it. I then asked one of the workers at the Tavern if they would pose for me so I could have a sort of living replication of the painting, which I now do.
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1850 is the year the Eagle Tavern replicates as it now stands restored in historic Greenfield Village, when Calvin C. Wood, a farmer, and his wife, Harriet, were the proprietors.
It was in the mid-1830s that Calvin Wood and his wife Jerusha sold their land in Onondaga, New York, and settled on a farm with their children in Lenawee County, Michigan—a few miles south of the village of Clinton and a few miles north of the village of Tecumseh. (Calvin and Jerusha’s children probably numbered four—all but one would die in infancy or childhood.)
The move to Michigan offered promise, but the years ahead also held misfortune. In the early 1840s Calvin lost Jerusha, and some of their children likely passed away during this time as well. By 1843, Calvin had married for a second time, this time to Clinton resident Harriet Frost Barnum.
Harriet Frost had left New York State with her parents and siblings and settled in Monroe County by 1830. The following year, 19-year-old Harriet married John Wesley Barnum. The Barnums moved to Clinton, where they were operating a “log hotel” along the Chicago Road in the fall of 1835. In October 1836, Wesley Barnum died, leaving Harriet a young widow with two daughters: Irene, age two, and Frances, age four. After their marriage, Calvin and Harriet’s blended household included not only Harriet’s two daughters, but also Calvin’s surviving son, Charles.
In the early and mid-19th century, tavernkeeping was a small and competitive business. It didn’t require much experience or capital, and as a result, most taverns changed hands often. In 1849, farmer Calvin Wood decided to try his hand at tavernkeeping, an occupation he would engage in for five years. Many other tavernkeepers were farmers as well—like other farmer-tavernkeepers, Calvin Wood probably supplied much of the food for tavern customers from his farm.
The Eagle Tavern's bedrooms were upstairs to the left of the stairway (the large part of the back dining area is not part of the original tavern. It was added by Henry Ford when he restored it after it had been brought to his new Greenfield Village). Since there were no indoor bathrooms in 1850, bedrooms would be provided with a washstand, pitcher or jug of water, drinking cup, towel, chamber pots (how'd you like to be the employee who empties those!?!), looking glass, and possibly clothing closets.
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| Yes, I had the privilege to experience the 2nd floor a while back. The second floor of the Eagle Tavern - top of the stairs. I did not take any photos of the original "rooms for let" up there because they are now private offices. But they're still there! |
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| Looking out the 2nd floor windows. |
The locals from town would also visit the tavern, using it for relaxing, socializing, and for catching (or spreading) the latest gossip, as well as for hearing news from the outside world from travelers.
For overnight lodging and three meals, according to other local accounts, the patron could have paid anywhere in the range from $.50 to $1.50. Not sure why the varied pricing.
Those travelers that stayed at the Eagle Tavern never left for want of food. As stated, in part, from a Village hand out:
"The foods that tavern keepers offered came from local farms and grew wild in the countryside, and tavern menus varied tremendously with the seasons. Fresh fruits and vegetables were available only at harvest time, and winter meals relied heavily on foods preserved by salting or drying. Since Calvin Wood was also a farmer, much of the food that he served might have come from his own nearby farm.
Food was served in the dining room on a strict schedule, and diners, as stated previously, ate at a common table, with everyone served together. The large dining room as it is today in the Eagle Tavern was constructed after the building was moved to Greenfield Village to provide a lunchroom for children who were attending Greenfield Village schools. According to museum records, the original dining room probably only contained one table for dining.
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| Here is the hearth where the food was originally cooked, as you can see in the picture below!  I was told this is a photograph of the original Eagle Tavern kitchen/dining area, though I am not 100% convinced, for the brick hearth is very different. The ceiling beams are quite different as well. Upon studying pictures of how the tavern looked before Henry Ford added on the large dining area, I can see how one would think it so, and it does give a wonderful idea in showing how the tavern was originally set up back in the 19th century. I've seen pictures of other taverns and the similarities are striking. This area is still located on the back right side of the tavern, directly behind the ladies parlor. Yep - that would be the "common table" you see, where the travelers dined. |
I do like the fact that this room still has the original fireplace where the food was cooked back when it served as a tavern stop. In a mid-19th century Michigan tavern, the predominant method of cooking was over an open fire, although cookstoves were available by the late 1830's. A bake oven would have most certainly been used during the Woods tenure at the tavern. Most food would have been stored in a ground level storage room or in a cellar. Taverns also might have a separate springhouse, mainly for keeping dairy products fresh, and an ice house.
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| Finding a particular herb to serve with a meal. |
As a living historian, I am always searching for ways to recreate real history; I always like to see if I can somehow capture a moment in time, from another era, and become a part of it, which can be quite difficult to do, such as being able to dine in the original tavern kitchen/dining area.
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| I convinced the waitress to allow a few of us reenactors us to be allowed to eat in the original kitchen. And we were willing to carry the table in! So here we are! Okay, no, that's not true. But being that we can no longer eat where the diners of 160 years ago did, I can, through computer magic, at least give a little inkling of what it looked like when patrons of long ago did dine in the original dining room. Yes, that's our waitress you see standing in the back. |
There is a wonderfully detailed description of how a mealtime worked at a local (Detroit) tavern in 1838. This could very well describe in a similar vein mealtime at the Parks/Eagle Tavern, or any other local tavern:
"When the dinner bell was rung, the was a general rush to the room, as if they had not tasted food for several days. Not being so ravenous as it seemed to me they all must be, I waited until they had all entered, and in consequence could not find a place at the table. However, I had only to wait about six minutes, when one, having finished his meal, walked off, on which I occupied his place. But, by this time almost everything seemed cleared off, so that I with difficulty obtained a fragment of bread and a cup of coffee. I soon found out the reason of the rush to dinner and, benefiting by my experience, pursued the same course as the rest."
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| And another shot of the same area. |
Calvin Wood didn’t run the tavern alone—a tavernkeeper’s family was often deeply involved in business operations as well. And, of course, Calvin’s wife Harriet was the one with previous experience running a tavern! Harriet would have supervised food preparation and the housekeeping. Her children, Frances and Irene, likely helped their mother and stepfather in the tavern at times. Calvin’s own son, Charles, was married and operating his own Tecumseh Township farm by this time.
With food coming from the Wood family farm and the meals served being very substantial, the patrons on the receiving end were served in abundance, especially in the autumn time of year.
"Very little conversation took place, each individual seemed to hurry on as fast as possible, and the moment one finished he rose and went away. There was no change of plates, knives, or forks, everything being eaten off the same plate, excepting pudding, which was taken in saucers."
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| Okay, so we couldn't eat in the original kitchen/dining area, but a few of us will, every-so-often, visit the tavern for a wonderful lunch while dressed in the mid-19th century fashions. |
Since country taverns were operated by households, as the family of Calvin Wood did, tavern cooking was home cooking. And with Calvin's wife Harriet supervising the housekeeping and likely presiding over the public table as the tavern's hostess, with her children on hand, there would have been young men from neighboring farms or young unmarried women from the general area who would have supplied the cooking and keeping.
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| Perhaps that is Mrs. Wood directing a young servant to get off of the seat and care for the patrons. |
As quoted from a Detroit News article from 1927:
"People nowadays would be appalled to see the quantity of food that was served then. There were never less than three kinds of meat. There were side dishes of vegetables and salad. Red cabbage was a favorite for salad because of its decorative appearance. Then there were pickles and crackers and cheese always on the table."
Also, the article continues to tell of jellies and preserves, five or six kinds of cake, and two or three kinds of pie, particularly mince pie. On each table were two casters of pepper, vinegar, mustard, and spices in brightly polished containers.
Once again, from a Village hand out:
"Alcohol consumption during the 19th century reached a peak that has never since been duplicated, so it is not surprising that the American temperance movement came into being during that time."
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| This picture also shows what was a part of the original tavern - not an addition. However, if the other area - the original kitchen and dining area shown earlier - was where the patrons ate, what was this part of the tavern used for? I cannot seem to find out, though I will keep searching. |
Of course, preparation is done a little different today compared to a hundred and sixty-plus years ago.
Without modern refrigeration and freezers, most food would have been stored in a ground level storage room or in a cellar. Taverns also might have a separate springhouse, mainly for keeping dairy products fresh, and also an ice house.
Compiled from traveler's accounts, merchant's account books, local newspaper advertisements, and historical reminisces, it has been learned that the most common meat served in taverns in the southern part of Michigan was pork, followed by chicken, beef, local game such as venison, rabbit, and quail, and finally, seafood. Vegetables, of course, were mostly of whatever was in season, though potatoes were the most common vegetable served, followed by cabbage, corn, peas, and onions.
Fruits were also of the season, such as peaches, pears, and apples. Bread was a mainstay.
How about a drink?
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| The barroom. Tavern drinking in 1850 usually entailed "treating." Each man in turn bought a half-pint of whiskey, which was passed around the room. Beer and wine were much less popular.  You've seen what's at the top of the stairs earlier.. |
The barroom, where the tavern-owner generally served as the bar-keeper (the term 'bartender' was not common until at least the 1860's - barkeeper was the appropriate term before that time), was the primary place for men to get a drink and to socialize as well as have discussions that could be too harsh for feminine ears.
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| The 'keep and the patron. |
It's here where you might find settlers moving west, stage drivers, local businessmen, farmers come to town, circuit-riding lawyers, or political candidates, all gathered together for conversation.
The drinks back then would have only had two or three ingredients just to mask the flavor of the alcohol, hence the use of bitters, which did the job rather well. And just to let you know how deep this commitment to Greenfield Village's historical accuracy goes, they planted Orange Pippin apple trees over in the orchard at Firestone farm so that they can make the historic bitters recipe as it was made 160 years ago.
Did you catch that? They're growing apple trees in order to make more historically accurate bitters. Tell me that's not history coming to life!
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| I prefer sarsaparilla! |
Chewing tobacco was very common and closely associated with drinking. Intervals of drinking and chewing were part of the daily ritual for countless men, and tavern floors were liberally stained with tobacco juice from spitting. Spittoons were provided, but men either ignored or missed them on a regular basis.
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| A nighttime view of the barroom. |
There's also the Lady's Parlor:
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| A ladies parlor is off to one side, this being a spot for the women to gather before or after dining, out of earshot of the, at times, boisterous men, who were over in the barroom on the opposite side of the tavern. Out of the picture is a piano, played and sung to. |
It offered a quieter, cleaner setting for women and children to wait for the stage, or for women of the local community to gather and socialize (this room has also been called the Gathering Room).
Then there is the - - - - -
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| Public sitting room. |
The middle room served as the public sitting room. Here, travelers could wait for the stage or for the announcement that a meal was ready. Locals could also catch up on the latest news by talking to the travelers, or even read the newspapers provided by the tavern-keeper or left behind by a traveler. As one traveler wrote: "Our Inn is crowded to suffocation, and the sitting room is filled with stage drivers and citizen boarders, smoking pipes and playing euchre, the national Game of Michigan."
Besides being a stopping place for travelers, the tavern was also famous for its local dance parties and balls, which took place on the second floor.
One who lived near the "Eagle" explained in a letter to Henry Ford written in the late 1920s of one her most pleasurable experiences while at the Eagle Tavern:
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Okay, so this is not Ray Anthony Niles playing the fiddle, nor is he "a pattern of old Beau Brummell of ancient times" (lol); he is Civil War reenactor JJ, and on an evening during Greenfield Village's Civil War Weekend when only period-dress reenactors were allowed to go inside, he played the violin that did "charmed all his hearers, and helped to make that old tavern popular.” A recreation of the 1860s - it was wonderful! |
“My childhood and girlhood home were within 6 miles of that old tavern, and I danced all night in the ballroom at my last ball in July 4, 1859. There was a dance pavilion, a bowery on one side that was covered with flowering vines. I think it was 100 feet long, and the dining hall was at one side in the house, a hall connected it. On that 4th of July night there were 100 couples. I remember well every detail of my last ball at that old tavern in my ball dress. I was a week devising and making it (the dress) sitting up late nights. I was not sorry later, as the best dressed & best dancing couple that won the most votes were to lead in the Grand March. I must say it, with my dress and dancing, won as the leading lady, and a tall young man, whom I had never seen before, and, I think, from Lansing, won as my partner, and was brought to me by the ballroom manager and introduced to me, and we were ever soon gliding down the Ballroom…followed by the other 99 couples. We marched around back to the place we started, and the whole party formed in double rows in a cotillion. I was then dancing with my evening escort, Charles Wood, of Grand Ledge.
The midnight banquet was spread on two long tables, where all the good things were put on, decorated with summer flowers and lighted with hanging chandeliers. At one end of the table a whole roasted pig with a cob of corn in its mouth, and at the other end of the table was several roast turkeys, and in the middle of the table was a huge pyramid cake about 3 feet high, and there were high glass bowls of raisins, nuts, and candies, and every other good edible. The dining room was on the other side of the building from the ballroom, connected by a hall.”
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| Here is the original dance floor on the 2nd floor - the one and the same the young lady telling the story mentions here danced upon back on the 4th of July in 1859! |
This is an actual recollection by 89 year old Mrs. Marie L. Moreaux (formerly Tripp), speaking of what was, perhaps, the most special night of her life. The ballroom floor in which she writes of still exists but is no longer in use, and is located on the 2nd floor. It was constructed so that the floor had a slight spring to it to give the dancers the experience of a “delightful sense of exhilaration as they glided over the smooth surface.” The ballroom was known throughout that section of the country for its spring dance floor.
Mrs Moreaux continued, “It was a very popular place and supported the finest ‘orchestry’ music in that part of the country, especially the violin…of whom was one Ray Anthony Niles, who was a pattern of old Beau Brummell of ancient times. He played the violin that charmed all his hearers, and helped to make that old tavern popular. He was before my time as he went with the crowd of gold diggers to California.”
That may have been the former Miss Tripp's last ball but it certainly was not the last at this old tavern. In 1872 it hosted a "Union Dance Party," and a leap year ball in 1876. This last ball was truly the final dance for the tavern - the Clinton Town Hall was built in that year and all future dances were held there instead.
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| An evening period-dress gathering at the Eagle Tavern. This was a truly wonderful night. |
Besides the balls, the second floor ballroom area was also the place where locals could gather for concerts, performances, lectures, and debates. The area could also provide overflow sleeping space on nights when the tavern was crowded with people seeking overnight accommodations.
It was during the Civil War when the inn became the Union Hotel, and Union soldiers going to and coming from the front would lodge here as needed.
Walter Hubbell Smith purchased the inn in 1864, and it was his daughter and heir, Mary Ella Smith, that sold it to Henry Ford for restoration.
Walter Smith and his wife Mary, along with their daughter (who was known as Ella) operated the Tavern, which they renamed the Smith's Hotel from the time of purchase into the 1890s.
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| The Smith's Hotel circa 1890 |
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| The hotel closed in the 1890s. When Ella posed for this photo about 1910, she still lived in the tavern, giving piano lessons and taking in boarders to earn a living. |
Imagine living in this grand building all alone.
Ella did, and she continued to live in it as it became more ramshackled.
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| 1912 - ruin is setting in. |
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| 1920: This is sad to see, but the future will be brighter... |
But how did this whole collecting of houses and buildings "hobby" get started?
In the early part of the 20th century, Henry Ford was quoted as saying, "History is more or less bunk..." which has been repeated often ever since. And suddenly Mr. Ford was called anti-American...an anarchist. But what most folks don't know is that this "bunk " comment was stated for reasons other than what the press said. It is here that I quote from the book, A Home For Our Heritage by Geoffery C. Upward: "...what (Ford) meant and explained many times in later years was that written history reflected little of people's day-to-day existence. 'History as it is taught in the schools deals largely with...wars, major political controversies, territorial extensions and the like. When I went to our American history books to learn how our forefathers harrowed the land, I discovered that the historians knew nothing about harrows. Yet our country depended more on harrows than on guns or great speeches. I thought a history which excluded harrows and all the rest of daily life is bunk and I think so yet."
It was shortly after the The Great War (WWI), in 1919, that Ford found that his birthplace home was in danger due to a major road expansion through the property of his family's farm. The house lay directly in the path of the road. Ford and family decided to prevent this awful occurrence by moving his house and barns out of harms way. But, they didn't stop there. They also restored the old homestead back to the way they remembered it being in 1876 - the year Henry's mother passed away. They searched high and low for every artifact that matched their memories and soon found many more items than necessary. Mr. Ford kept them all, and then some.
That, in a nutshell, was how he caught the collecting bug.
In 1923, Henry Ford bought the Wayside Inn and its outbuildings in Massachusetts, where he had it restored and allowed it to remain in its original location. Closer to home, that same year Ford also bought and restored the schoolhouse he had attended in Dearborn Township, the Scotch Settlement School.
In 1924, Ford purchased the 1816 Botsford Tavern, which sits on another westward route from Detroit. But, aside from moving it back from the main road, it stayed within feet of where it was originally built.
His next purchase was that old dilapidated Parks/Eagle/Union/Smiths Tavern, in 1925.
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| 1925 "There was only one man in 4,000 that would consider it anything but a pile of junk," said his right-hand man, Ed Cutler. And the inside was even worse! Piles of old magazines, ten year old bottles of milk, eggs, and "tons of stuff." |
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| The restored Parks Tavern, Eagle Tavern, Union Hotel, Smith's Hotel, Clinton Inn, and then back to the Eagle Tavern. Stagecoach history is Michigan - thus American - history. |
Now neither the Scotch Settlement School nor the Tavern were the first to arrive at what would become Greenfield Village. That honor belongs to what was then known as the Waterford General Store (eventually to become the JR Jones General Store). But next on the list to be placed was our favorite historic eating spot, what would become The Eagle Tavern.
As bad as the exterior looked, the interior conditions were even worse. The original barroom provided the only livable space. Ford's chief architect Edward Cutler, under the watchful eye of Henry Ford himself, expressed amazement at the mess Ella Smith was living in. "She had it filled with newspapers and magazines in that room. I found magazines there older than I was, just piled up in piles! There were bottles of milk there - I'll bet you they were ten years old - that had never been opened, and eggs and stuff around."
Mr. Cutler noted that, "When we brought it in (to Greenfield Village), the village plan hadn't been completed."
The first thing was to get the building together again, the main section. There was no attempt to put it on a foundation in the first spot. It was just put on skids because they weren't satisfied with the location. Then after Mr. Ford made up his mind as to the permanent location, we got it on the spot, the foundation in under it, and really went after it to finish it up. Mr. Ford showed a lot of interest in this particular building.
Cutler's crew finished the restoration in the spring of 1929, almost a year and a half after the dismantling. Where possible, original materials were reused, such as the hand-hewn floor beams.
The original rustic elegance returned to the barroom, including the spirit bottles lining the wall shelves.
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| With my own little computer magic, I have a depiction of what the exterior of the Eagle Tavern may have looked without the dining room add-on. |
The rear dining addition was added to accommodate large crowds, initially for the children going to the Edison Institute School or, eventually, for the ticket-holding patrons to Greenfield Village.
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| And now we're looking from the original area to the new addition that was built in the late 1920s once brought to Greenfield Village. I love the fireplace on the far end. Plus the fact that it has remained candle lit - no electric lights in the dining area! |
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| Welcome to the Eagle Tavern. Will you be dining with us today? |
Though the Tavern was known as the Clinton Inn from when it was brought to its new location, it was in 1982 when the name was changed back to the Eagle Tavern, for this was in line with Greenfield Village's new goals at that time of making itself more functional and accurate. It was in 1982 when period correct meals were served for the first time, along with desserts of the season, much as it had over 150 years earlier, and is done so by candle light. Much of the information for the table settings were based on those described in Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book, a popular volume of recipes and household advice published in 1850. From Miss Beecher and similar sources, it became apparent that both bread and butter plates and salad bowls were unknown in the mid-19th century. Forks and knives constituted a set, while spoons were considered more specialized utensils for serving, for eating soup and dessert, and for stirring hot drinks.
And that's what the Eagle Tavern became - food history utilizing the senses of sight, smell, touch, and even taste! Having lunch became an immersion event!
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| Here is my Fricasseed Chicken with Biscuits - - oooo...and Brussels Sprouts, too! |
Upon realizing that what I was eating was very similar to what our ancestors would have eaten seasonally in 1850, my dining experience at the Eagle Tavern was up'd quite a bit!
For instance, during mid-to-late springtime, when Greenfield Village re-opens for the season, the menu might consist of
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Pan-Fried Cornmeal-Crusted Trout with Fish Sauce
Savory Noodles with Spinach Garlic
Pork, Parsnip and Carrot Stew
and
Chicken in a Pot with Spring Vegetables & Broth
With side orders of:
Dressed Greens and Asparagus
Salmagundi
Spring Onion Pie
and
A Fry of Oysters
And desserts consisting of:
Almond Cake
Rice Pudding
Vinegar Pie with Whipped Cream
~During the early summer one might find the following on their menu:
Roasted Herb Chicken with Rice
Savory Noodles with Summer Squash and Herbs
Venison Croquette
Pan-Fried Trout with Lemon Butter
and
Ham-Steak with Walnut Catsup
And for side orders:
Dressed Tomatoes and Greens
Salmagundi
Potato and Sausage Pie
and
Fried Eggplant with Stewed Tomatoes
And for dessert:
Strawberry Shortcake
Blueberry Fool
and
Peach Crisp
~And during the autumn time of year, their menu could include such delectable delights as:
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| Heather Thornton captured autumn perfectly in this photograph taken from a tavern window. |
Whitefish Served on a Cast Iron Skillet
Venison, Turnip, and Carrot Pie,
Fricasseed Chicken with Biscuits
Smoked Trout with Pickled Vegetables
Smoked Pork with Sauerkraut
and
Savory Noodles with Buttermilk Spinach and Herbs
And for sides one can order:
Bubble & Squeak
Salmagundi
Onion Pie
and
Smoked Trout with Pickled Vegetables
And how about dessert?
Pumpkin with Whipped Cream
Cider Bread Pudding with Nutmeg Custard Sauce
Apple and Cranberry Pandowdy
As you can plainly see, this is not your typical, normal everyday 21st century restaurant fare.
But...we haven't even touched on Christmas!
Just so you know, they have quite the meal to serve customers during the Holiday Nights Christmas Feast. Here's what they served one Christmas when my wife & I were there:
apple sauce, cranberry relish, butternut squash soup, pork & apple pie, roasted chicken with cherry sauce, roasted rib of beef with brown sauce, brussels sprouts, buttered carrots, herb roasted red potatoes, and a French charlotte with vanilla sauce for dessert.
Oh, and hot cider to drink.
All very traditional and accurate for a mid-19th century Christmas meal.
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| My wife & I with our favorite Calvin C. Wood (Fred Priebe) during a Christmas meal at the tavern. |
And, best of all, the food is produced locally, just as it would have been in the 19th century. It really is amazing to what extent this venue goes to localize its historical food preparation; nearly everything made here is purchased locally, most within 150 miles of the museum (mainly from Michigan, though occasionally they do extend into northern Ohio). This includes the meat from the livestock, vegetables, ice cream, which comes from Melting Moments in Lansing, Guernsey milk from Northville, and even their bottled water is from Absopure, which is based in Plymouth. They're always looking at their product to make sure, if at all possible, it is locally made or grown. It's about staying true to the historical accuracy that Greenfield Village strives for. Simply put, in the mid-1800s, food and drinks would have been made or grown locally, utilizing produce and livestock grown and raised on nearby farms that would change with the seasons. It's a matter of authenticity.
And by the way, their drinks – hard and soft – are also historically accurate.
From Dining in Detroit: (They) carry a selection of "Spiritous Liquors" in the Eagle Tavern and bar from Michigan's New Holland Distillery, which include whiskey, gin, two kinds of rum, and a "Michigan grain spirit" (called such because "vodka" would have been unknown at this time, except maybe as moonshine). New Holland's spirits were also chosen because the labels have a look more suited to the 1850 era (versus something like the cheeky 1920s-era pin-up girl on the Valentine Vodka label, superior though the product may be). Beers (called "malt beverages" on the menu) are custom-made from Detroit's Motor City Brewing Works with labels exclusive to the Henry Ford, and are bottled in such a way as to appear more era-appropriate (though bottled beer would not have existed back then). "With everything we do we consider 'how can we position this properly to have it here?' We're not going to the extreme of carrying Bud Light. We're still keeping our look and feeling [with these beers]."
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| It can also help if one were to take the horse & carriage from the front of the Village to the Tavern, helping with that immersive feel. |
The Eagle Tavern is, by the way, the only location in Greenfield Village where 1st person presentation is practiced (1st person is where the workers dress and act as if they are from the time they are portraying, in this case, 1850).
The total immersive atmosphere makes for a memorable experience.
Again, it’s in this way they have the ability to give their patrons the memorable sensory perceptions of the past where taste as well as sight, sound, smell, and touch can be had and explored.
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| Oftentimes, another carriage may be waiting to take passengers to another part of the Village. |
In fact, visiting Greenfield Village as a whole is a historical feast for the human senses.
Years ago when I would dine here, I just kind of thought of it as a cool place to eat when I was hungry. It took me a while to fully comprehend and appreciate this historical food thing. But once it actually hit me, it hit me hard, and I began to understand and appreciate that what was being served on our plates was every bit as important as the presentations I heard inside the historic homes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a side note, we were traveling (in our modern motorized vehicle) along U.S. 12 when I noticed, while we were passing through the town of Clinton, a state historical marker that made me stop and wonder...could it be? I pulled over and my assumption was correct: the marker showed the exact original spot of the Eagle Tavern, now, of course, relocated in Greenfield Village!
How cool was this?
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| Whoa! Could it be...? |
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| It IS!!! |
It was a wonderous feeling knowing that I was now traveling the same route as the stage coaches did all those years ago
.
What so many do not realize while strolling the hallowed grounds of Greenfield Village is the 'hidden' social history of the structures that are there. I do not mean purposely hidden, because one could hear hours of stories about each building if all were told! But, it is these little facts that make the buildings come to life. To think that the Eagle Tavern, of which my wife and I frequent often for lunch and considered to be our favorite place to dine, held grand balls in the mid-19th century never even crossed my mind. As with all the buildings here that I research extensively, I will look at The Eagle Tavern a little differently than I have before, and I will try to imagine the 100 couples entering this wonderful piece of Michigan history back in the summer of 1859.
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| I do hope you enjoyed this updated Eagle Tavern post, with extra information I've not printed before. This is another true Michigan gem! |
Until next time, see you in time.
......... . ...
Much of the material for this posting was found at the Benson Ford Research Center
Other information came from the book, A Home For Our Heritage by Geoffery C. Upward
The servers and hosts of the Eagle Tavern also shared their knowledge
Another book I found extremely helpful is Travelers & Taverns
Some historic food presentation information came from a blog, Dining In Detroit, which, unfortunately, is no longer around.
The older historic photos of the Eagle Tavern came from The Henry Ford's web site.
To read about the structures I've located from before Michigan became a state, please click HERE
To read on other Greenfield Village homes and structures I researched, please click the following links:
Ackley Covered Bridge 1832
At one time, covered bridges were commonplace. Not so much anymore. But Greenfield Village has one from 1832.
At one time, covered bridges were commonplace. Not so much anymore. But Greenfield Village has one from 1832.
Daggett House (part one)
Learn about the 18th century house and the family who lived there.
Daggett House (part two)
This concentrates more on the everyday life of the 18th century Daggett family, including ledger entries.
Doc Howard's Office - The World of a 19th century Doctor
It's 1850 and you're sick. Who are you going to call on? Why, good ol' Doc Howard, of course!
~Edison Posts:
Tales of Everyday Life in Menlo Park (or Francis Jehl: A Young Boy's Experience Working at Menlo Park)
Menlo Park is brought to life by one who was there. First-hand accounts.
Menlo Park is brought to life by one who was there. First-hand accounts.
Follow the route that Thomas Edison took as he rode and worked on the rails in the early 1860s, including the Smiths Creek Depot.
The oldest windmill on Cape Cod is not on cape Cod - - it's in Michigan!
Lots of interesting things about this wonderful piece of Americana from 1633.
Firestone Farm at Greenfield Village
Learn about the boyhood home of Harvey Firestone, the tire magnate.
The Giddings House
Revolutionary War and possible George Washington ties are within the hallowed walls of this beautiful stately colonial home.
Recreating this store to its 1880s appearance was extremely important as the overall goal, and so accurately reproduced items were needed to accomplish the end result, for many original objects were rare or too fragile, with some being in too poor condition.
Research has shown that, as a young attorney, Abraham Lincoln once practiced law in this walnut clapboard building. I think this post will make you realize just how close to history you actually are when you step inside.
Built in the late 18th century, with some slight modifications from its original style, this is one of the oldest original American log cabins still in existence.
These buildings were once a part of everyday life in American villages and towns and cities - including the Gunsolly Carding Mill, the Loranger Gristmill, Farris Windmill, Hanks Silk Mill, Cider Mill, and the Spofford and the Tripps Saw Mills, all in one post!
Noah Webster House
A quick overview of the life of this fascinating but forgotten Founding Father whose home, which was nearly razed for a parking lot, is now located in Greenfield Village.
The Plympton House
This house, with its long history (including American Indians) has close ties to Paul Revere himself!
Preserving History
Henry Ford did more for preserving everyday life of the 18th and 19th centuries than anyone else! Here's proof.
Richart Carriage Shop
This building was much more than a carriage shop in the 19th century!
This building was much more than a carriage shop in the 19th century!
And for some haunted fun,
Ghosts of Greenfield Village
Yep - real hauntings take place in this historic Village.
Ghosts of Greenfield Village
Yep - real hauntings take place in this historic Village.
Yes, some of the structures that now sit inside Greenfield Village have connections to America's fight for Independence.
Virtually each structure inside Greenfield Village has come from another location, I took on a project to seek out the original locations of many of the more localized buildings and visited where they first were built and walked that hallowed ground.
Homes that played a role in our country's fight for Independence.
This post is part history and part family history: a blending of the two. And one way to show how you can place your ancestors in their time.
Saving Americana - that's what Henry Ford did - and in doing so he showed everyone the importance of everyday life history. This is how it all began.
Nothing is placed randomly inside the structures at Greenfield Village. The curators carefully consider each and every object before allowing it to become part of the site.
And the Clothing Studio at The Henry Ford covers over 250 years of fashion (from 1760 onward) and is the premier museum costume shop in the country.
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