Taverns

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#006633" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="175d6c00ddvuru.jpg"> <div> <B>Sketches by Arthur F. Davis </B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="35394650.jpg" border=0 width="148" height="101" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Brooks Tavern, Main St. </B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="50a984e0.jpg" border=0 width="152" height="78" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>White's Tavern, Great Rd.</B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0066FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Acton Minutemen</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT> |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Acton Minutemen"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Landmarks"><U><B>Landmarks</B></U></A></div> <div> Taverns</div> <div> <B>Click on topic</B>:</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#early_inns_and_taverns_of_acton" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>Early inns and taverns of Acton</B></U></A></div> <div> Presentation to Acton Historical Society, Feb 18, 1996 </div> <div> By Brewster Conant </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#jones_tavern_" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>JONES TAVERN </B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm#jones_tavern_2" TARGET="_top" TITLE="National Historical Places"><U><B>Jones Tavern</B></U></A><B>- </B>O<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >pened as a Tavern in 1750</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#mark_white_jr__s_tavern" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>MARK WHITE JR.'S TAVERN</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#brooks_tavern" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>BROOKS TAVERN</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#acton_s_pirate" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>Acton's Pirate</B></U></A><B>  </B>by <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lucida Bright" >Harold R. Phalen</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#tales_of_buried_treasure" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>TALES OF BURIED TREASURE</B></U></A></div> <div> EDWARD ROWE SNOW, well-known author of tales of sea adventure and mystery, </div> <div> had become interested in the legend of “Rocky Guzzle” in Acton Center</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#hosmer_tavern" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>HOSMER TAVERN</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#hosmer_house_tavern" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>Hosmer House Tavern</B></U></A></div> <div>  Built in the 1740's, this home was a meeting place for weary travelers </div> <div> who made their way along the Union Turnpike, now Massachusetts Ave.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#hapgood_s_tavern" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>HAPGOOD'S TAVERN</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#wetherbee_tavern" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>WETHERBEE TAVERN</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#nagog_inn___pond_tavern_" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>NAGOG INN - POND TAVERN </B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#famous_landmark_demolished" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>Famous Landmark Demolished</B></U></A></div> <div> A Fortnight ago the 276 year old Nagog Innstood among a tangle vines at the side of Great</div> <div> Road in Acton, a reminder of the days when itwas a famous vacationing spot.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#monument_house" TITLE="Taverns"><U><B>MONUMENT HOUSE</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>COVER CHARGE</B></div> <div> <B> <A NAME="early_inns_and_taverns_of_acton"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Early inns and taverns of Acton</B></div> <div> <B>Presentation to Acton Historical Society, Feb 18, 1996 </B></div> <div> <B>By Brewster Conant </B></div> <bR> <div>          When the colonists came to America they were certainly no strangers to inns and taverns. Speaking of their trait of neighborliness, Alice Morse Earle wrote "the establishment of an hostelry, --- for the entertainment of travelers and for the mutual comfort of the settlers, was scarcely second to their providing a gathering place for the church." More often than not inns and taverns were situated in close proximity to the church or meetinghouse, sometimes as a condition of the license. The General Court, which granted licenses, in 1656 made towns subject to a fine for not sustaining a tavern. Concord and Newburyport, Mass. were thus fined.  Taverns could be used for religious services where meetinghouses did not exist or until one was built.</div> <bR> <div>       In the mid-1600's licenses provided that strangers' names would be reported to the selectmen and could then be 'warned out of town' if even suspected of wrongdoing.  There were rules as to what liquors and food could be served, at what price, and what entertainment if any, could be offered. Constant efforts were made to prevent drunkenness by fines and punishments such as whipping, the stocks and even having to wear a scarlet "D". Both tavern owner and guest could be fined.</div> <bR> <div>       Early tavern inns, while primitive, were as well furnished as most homes of the time.  Taverns and inns were common. Cotton Mather complained in 1675 that every other house in Boston was an alehouse. Be that as it may, in 1714 Boston, then a town of 10,000 populations, had 34 inn holders (12 run by women), 4 taverns, and 41 retailers of liquor.  In New York in 1648 one-quarter of the buildings were tap houses.</div> <bR> <div>   In the mid-1600's so many small ordinaries existed in parts of the South, that laws were passed to restrict their numbers.  Our neighboring town of Stow at one time or another supported 16 taverns.</div> <bR> <div>          It is worth a moment to discuss the terms used to describe these early establishments. These varied over time and by geographical region.  The early term for a tavern was "ordinary."  In the North, the term came into disuse by the end of the 1600's, but persisted in the South for long after that.  Taverns played an important part in Colonial times and enjoyed real repute. The designation of tavern was widely used in New England and New York; the term "inn" was more common in Pennsylvania.</div> <bR> <div>      Taverns mainly offered drinks, while inns offered drinks, food, and lodging. After the Revolution the terms" hotel" and "house” began to be used.</div> <bR> <div>       Taverns, besides their interest for sociologists, offer much of interest to architects. They were built in many styles, but a typical tavern would have the taproom as its largest room on the ground floor. The bar itself would be located in part of this room set off by a portcullis which could be closed.  There would often be a parlour, which would serve as a sitting room for ladies.  Meals were served at large communal tables. Upstairs would be a large room, which served as a meeting place, for dances, and so on.  This room would often be partitioned by a wall, which pivoted from the ceiling, or   the room would be divided by other means to provide sleeping quarters.  Other rooms were provided which would offer more or less congested accommodations.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>STAGE LINES AND STAGECOACHES</B></div> <bR> <div>          This paper could as easily have been about stage lines and stagecoaches, for while inns and taverns were there before stagecoaches, both crested in popularity together. The coming of turnpikes in the early 1800's gave added impetus to this way of travel. The designation stagecoach came from the need to change teams of horses at different stages of the journey, usually every 8 to 12 miles. Stagecoach travel was thus long distance by that definition. Stage lines appeared in the early 1700's and grew until the coming of the railroads. In 1832 there were 106 stagecoach lines from Boston, employing 1,600 stages daily.  The Boston Traveler, by the way, had its beginnings as a stagecoach paper.  8 stage lines serviced Acton over three different routes along which most of our taverns were built.</div> <bR> <div>      The railroads, when they appeared in the mid-1800's, in very short order put the stage lines out of business. For instance, the Eastern Stage Company formed a syndicate of several existing lines in 1818, expanded into New Hampshire in 1830, and was out of business by 1838. Along with the stage lines went many inns and taverns, and many of the toll roads as well.  Of passing interest are the coaches used, initially made by any number of firms. Two of these are of special interest and were dominant firms.  The Conestoga Wagon (first made in Pennsylvania in 1755) became the renowned "Prairie Schooner" in the settlement of the West. At one time some 3,000 of these ponderous wagons served Pennsylvania locations from Philadelphia.</div> <bR> <div>      Another, the Concord Coach, made by the Abbot-Downing Company in Concord, New Hampshire came to dominate the trade as time went on.  First produced in 1827, they were sold all over the world. A large customer, until the Union Pacific Railroad came along in 1860, was the Wells Fargo Company. The "Deadwood Stage" used by Buffalo Bill Cody in his Wild West shows - billed as " the most famous vehicle.</div> <bR> <div>        Travel by stagecoach was often rigorous. Usual departure times were early in the morning, 3 to 4AM, and arrival times were often at 10PM or later. A trip from Boston to Worcester left at 3AM with breakfast in Sudbury, then on to Worcester. From Boston, Hartford could be reached in 3-4 days; New York in 4-5 days, and Providence in a day.  Acton was just off these major roads, which went through Sudbury, Marlboro, Shrewsbury, and Worcester.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>TAVERN FARE</B>            </div> <bR> <div>             It is hard to generalize about food at inns and taverns over the long period of time involved and given the wide choice of menus and quality of food.  Many travelers carried as much of their own food as possible.</div> <bR> <div>              Breakfast was an important meal, with steaks, fish, eggs, cakes, tea, and coffee. One-account notes it was served at 8AM, lunch at 2-3, and dinner (another heavy meal which often included drinks) at 7PM.</div> <bR> <div>                Items on the menu would include almost everything in season plus most fish and meats, which are familiar to us. Some, which are not so common today, were oysters and turtle (sea captains would bring them from the West Indies). Meals were sometimes included in the price of the stagecoach ticket. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>TAVERN DRINKS</B>   </div> <div>      </div> <div>       It might be of interest to describe some tavern drinks. As noted before, taverns played an important part in Colonial times and enjoyed real repute. Early on, beer was the common drink and just about everyone drank it, except that it was withheld from the Indians. It was made with imported malt and was encouraged in its production. Barley and hops were planted, but as these grains did not thrive in the New England climate, both cider and rum became ever more popular. By 1775 rum had established itself, costing about 12 cents a quart when meals cost about 15 cents.  But even as early as 1636, the Puritan parson Increase Mather noted an "unhappy thing" that the "poor and wicked for a penny could make themselves drunk" on rum. Rum was also called Barbados - liquor, kill-devil, and rum bullion. It was distilled from molasses.</div> <bR> <div>     One of the drinks made with rum was  "Flip". Originally an English drink, the first reference in the colonies was in 1690.  It was made by making a mixture of 2/3  strong beer (also cider), to which sweeteners such as sugar or molasses were added together with dried pumpkin and a gill of New England rum  Into this mixture was thrust a hot iron poker (known asa logggerhead, flip-dog or hotle) to give the desired burnt, bitter taste. Flip glasses, without handles, and holding up to 2-3 quarts were used (about the shape of milkshake cups today).  Abbott's Tavern in Holden, Massachusetts was renown for many years for serving a "quality flip". By way of cost, a flip was 9d, lodging 3d, and potluck supper 8d according to one menu.</div> <bR> <div>             Punch was universal, popular, and potent. The word came through the English from India from the Hindustani "panch" or five, for the 5 ingredients used - tea, arrack  (a mid-east liquor), sugar, lemon, and water. Punches seem to have the distinction to have been named for everyone and for everywhere over the years.</div> <bR> <div>         No list of drinks would be complete without the mention of cider. Please realize cider was not apple juice - it was hard cider. As mentioned cider came to replace beer, made in vast quantities (one Joseph Wilder of Leominster made 616 barrels stored for the winter), and could be combined with rum as in a flip.</div> <bR> <div>        Wines were rather common and inexpensive in the colonies, coming from Madeira, Portugal, and Spain. The term  "sack" was used to identify these sweet wines.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>ACTON'S EARLY INNS AND TAVERNS</B></div> <bR> <div>          Acton's early taverns are usually thought of as Brooks', Jones', and Mark White's Taverns.  In fact, the order should be Jones', Mark White's, and Brooks'.  Because of the law requiring new towns to have a tavern as well as a meetinghouse, one is inclined to think that Brooks Tavern, which was located on Main Street across from the first meetinghouse, was the first tavern in town.  Not so.  Acton was laid out differently from many of our surrounding towns.  Before incorporation in 1735 there were major thoroughfares, principally Great Road leading to Groton and Littleton and the roads to the mill corner at Iron Work farm, and then on to Stow.  But Acton was spread out over a large area and it was decided to put the meetinghouse in the geographic center (Meeting House Hill), which was not on a major road, or in a population center.  To survive economically, a tavern owner needed transients.  The best locations were where there was activity, such as stage road.  In the Clerk's Book of the Concord Village Proprietors one reads that the Proprietors' meeting of October 24, 1757 at the Meeting House was immediately adjourned to Mark White's House. This involved a short ride north on Main Street, a turn on to what we call the Isaac Davis trail, then another turn northwards up 100 yards or so to what would be 274 Great Road.  This was the nearest tavern.  It wasn't until 1786 that the Proprietors adjourn to Brooks Tavern just across the street.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="jones_tavern_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>JONES TAVERN </B></div> <div> <B>128 Main Street</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >   </FONT></div> <div> <IMG SRC="50b995a0.jpg" border=0 width="153" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>      This tavern, now operated as a museum by The Iron Work Farm in Acton and on the National Historic Register, was built in 1732 and represents the only tavern remaining in Acton, which dates to Revolutionary times. It also is the best local example of Federal Period architecture. The original 1732 structure was built as a home for Samuel Jones (1707-1802.) He had a lean-to added in 1750 at which time he began operating a tavern and store. A wing was added in 1818.</div> <bR> <div>     The tavern was operated by a succession of Joneses: Samuel until 1778 or so, Samuel's son Aaron until 1821, and Aaron's son Elnathan until 1845.   Elnathan Jones, Jr. had worked in the store and found he had quite a head for business and was headed for greater things locally.  His father Elnathan therefore turned the tavern business over to his son-in-law James Tuttle in 1845. By 1878 the building was noger needed for the families own use, and it became a residence for employees of Elnathan Jones' dairy farm and/or the Tuttles, Jones, and Wetherbee store. It was later divided into 4 apartments with surprisingly little damage.  It was sold out of the Jones family in 1946 by Samuel Jones' great-great-granddaughter Carrie Evelyn Jones Kimball.  Fortunately the Iron Work Farm bought it to keep it from being demolished in 1964. But that is another story.  An unfortunate lightning strike in l967 caused extensive damage to the tavern room, particularly the original bar counter and account desk. But the Tavern is in good hands with Iron Work Farm. And continues under restoration by them.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="mark_white_jr__s_tavern"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>MARK WHITE JR.'S TAVERN</B></div> <div> <B>274 Great Road</B></div> <bR> <div> Mark White, Jr. built his house sometime between 1737 when he bought the land and 1742 when he married Anna Chamberlin of Westford.  He was a cooper by trade but in 1755 he took out a license as a retailer of spirits and held an inn holders license from 1756 to 1772. (He may have been an innkeeper longer at this spot but no records exist for the 1773-1790 period.)   In 1815 William Stearns owned the tavern and made big changes to the property.  Tavern licenses were taken out for the property over the 1815-1828 periods.  The original house had been a center-chimney four-room house (two rooms up, two, down.)  Stearns moved the original chimney and added another while doubling the size of the house.  The upstairs addition was probably just one room, possibly a ballroom.  The Society has a print from a glass plate negative showing the property as it was in the 1880's. This structure was given to the Acton Historical Society in 1986 by a local developer we were unable to sell it locally or restore it on the site.  In order to save what remained, it was sold for a nominal figure to John Lyons of Boxborough who dismantled it and moved it to Boxboro in 1988. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="brooks_tavern"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>BROOKS TAVERN</B></div> <div> <B>511 Main Street</B></div> <bR> <div>      At one time, the Brooks Tavern was probably Acton's best-known tavern.  It was built as a home in 1738, a two-story gambrel-roof structure, across from the First Meeting House (Meeting House Hill today) at the corner of Main Street and Nagog Hill Road. Originally owned by Daniel Brooks, it was not licensed as a tavern until 1772.  Daniel Brooks died the next year (1773), but his widow Caroline, ran the tavern thereafter.  It was to Mrs. Caroline Brooks' (inn holder) establishment that Francis Faulkner and the others adjourned on October 30, 1786.  Caroline and Daniel's son Paul Brooks occupied the structure until he sold it in 1808.  After that the tavern was once again a private residence owned by Nathaniel Stearns (father of Mrs. Moses Taylor).   Acton's Arthur Davis painted a marvelous picture of the tavern, which he had seen as a boy. The Brooks Tavern is an excellent example.</div> <bR> <div>      A group of sailors from Boston came out to build the Second Meeting House 1807. Weeks passed, and the sailors returned home save one, who stood apart from the others in demeanor and for the fact of wearing a scarf which was to prove important as the tale goes. He corresponded with unknown persons out of town and overseas, and would meet with a man who lived near a location near what is known as Rocky Guzzle next to the old main entrance to Woodlawn Cemetery. For a little romantic interest, he maintained a liaison with Daniel Brooks' niece Caroline during this time. He left, and for a time nothing was heard, until a stagecoach driver appeared with a blood soaked scarf, the scarf mentioned above.  This is overlaid with the belief that the man the sailor had spoken with was indeed a pirate who had moved to Acton some 20 years before and was thought to have buried treasure there.   Nothing more was added to the story until l857, when a railroad survey crew turned up a human skeleton and some French coins at Rocky Guzzle. This apparently triggered much gold digging in the area by a relative of the person the pirate had been staying with.  Lo and behold!  His mortgage was paid off and he died a wealthy man, his wealth unexplained in any other way. End of story.  </div> <bR> <div>         Tavern owners were often proud of the guests who stayed with them. Washington, Lafayette and Franklin are particular favorites.  About the time of the story above, according to Frederick Brooks Noyes who I suspect was what we now call "factually challenged,” tavern owner Brooks was able to convince John Adams and John Quincy Adams to come over from Concord where they had been staying, to pay a visit, thus deepening the mystery of what our sailor, now referred to as a Count, was up to.  This was possible, but the only Concord reference to John Quincy Adams was in 1785 when he, then 18, was visiting an aunt.  F. Brooks Noyes (and Harold Phalen citing Noyes in his History of Acton) also claimed that the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and poet John Greenleaf Whittier were guests at the tavern, "the latter having planted a pear tree which survived many years."  This is particularly amazing since the tavern reverted to private residence when both tn at Henry Durant's hotel near the present fire station. Brooks Tavern was razed in 1873.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="hosmer_tavern"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>HOSMER TAVERN</B></div> <div> <B>471 Mass Avenue</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >   </FONT></div> <div> <IMG SRC="374a8720.jpg" border=0 width="168" height="114" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">      <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT></div> <bR> <div>      A tavern, built by Ephraim Hosmer, may belong in the first-tier of Acton taverns.  It does need more research than I've been able to give.  According to remarks of Robert Nylander, whose sources I haven't located, there was an early tavern on this site which burned sometime before 1760.  From the Concord Village Proprietors Book, Belle Choate and Betsy Conant feel that there was an inn or station at that site prior to 1730.  They are still trying to prove it. </div> <bR> <div>     At the time of the fire in the late 1750s, Ephraim's nephew Jonathan was building our Hosmer Houseflames to include in Jonathan's new house.  (It is in our "Wedding Room.")  Ephraim Hosmer then rebuilt a 4-room central chimney house located on what was to become the Union Turnpike (completed in 1806) and stuck to farming. </div> <bR> <div>      Ephraim Hosmer served on the colonial Committee of Correspondence. He married Sarah Jones, the daughter of Samuel Jones of the Jones Tavern. His house was enlarged in 1807 to serve as a tavern for the pike by his son Joel. An ell was added in the l870's. Later owners were Aaron Jones, John Fletcher, and Barker and Noyes.  The old barn on the property burned and was replaced with another, which has been torn down in turn.  The property is located across from the Acton Funeral Home.                                                                              </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="hapgood_s_tavern"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>HAPGOOD'S TAVERN</B></div> <div> <B>162 Great Road</B></div> <bR> <div>      This structure is believed to have been built in 1739.  It was originally James Billings' home.  James Hapgood bought it in 1828 who applied for an innkeeper's license soon thereafter.  Hapgood's Tavern filled a gap in inns along that part of Great Road caused by the tavern once operated by Mark White Jr. and later William Stearnes having gone out of business. Hapgood's still stands on Great Road   near the Village Belle.  During the pre-Civil War period it was thought to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 1967 it was renovated by a local developer. Very little is known of this property (at least by me), but it may have been at one time known as the Red Robin Inn.  More of that later.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="wetherbee_tavern"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>WETHERBEE TAVERN</B></div> <div> <B>65 and 75 Great Road</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >   </FONT></div> <div> <IMG SRC="50cba7b0.jpg" border=0 width="186" height="123" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>       Edward Wetherbee lived in a small house at 75 Great Road in 1777 when he was granted a retail license.  Sometime around 1802, he built the house at 65 Great Road now occupied by Phillips Glass Company and once home of Webster Robbins. Wetherbee obtained a tavern license for his new house in 1803 and for the next forty years (or possibly more) Wetherbee's ran an inn and stagecoach stop from that address.  In the 1890 (Hurd) History of Middlesex County, Vol. I, page 294 one reads "Wetherbee's Tavern was known from the Canada line to our metropolis, and was a temporary Mecca of drovers and drivers of baggage-wagons for more than half a century preceding the advent of railroads." </div> <bR> <div>    In 1854 Edward Wetherbee Jr. retired and sold the tavern to his son Daniel  Wetherbee, who had been raised on the property.  Daniel Wetherbee (d. 1883) was   an important person at the time, being a selectman of the town, serving in the legislature, a director of the Lowell and Framingham Railroad and involved in the creation of the State Prison in Concord.  It is local lore that this tavern too became a stop on the Underground Railroad.  In 1876 the tavern was sold to Isaac Flagg who in turn sold it to Webster Robbins in 1889.  </div> <bR> <div>    Web Robbins never kept a tavern in the house, but after his death in 1917 the property again became an inn for a time: The Red Robin Inn.  According to Phalen's History of Acton, the sign of the Red Robin Inn had once hung in front of Hapgood's Tavern, just mentioned.  It had a picture of a sleigh and the date 1775.  It had been in the attic of the Billings-Hapgood-Perkins-Worden building for generations.</div> <bR> <div>    The new Red Robin Inn became a private home again in 1938. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="nagog_inn___pond_tavern_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>NAGOG INN - POND TAVERN </B></div> <div> <B>Across from 514 Great Road</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT></div> <div> <IMG SRC="47ebc6b0.jpg" border=0 width="188" height="107" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>      Mark White Jr.'s son Daniel was licensed in 1794 to keep a tavern at what is now Nagog Woods, which he originally called Pond Tavern. Seemingly the family had moved from what we have just discussed as White's Tavern along the same  (Great) road. The architecture is described as post revolutionary. It was operated as an inn for some 135 years from 1794 to 1929. There was a succession of owners ...Jones Putney, Ephraim Forbush, and William Hartwell ...until it returned to the possession of one of the founding family: Chester Robbins, great-grandson of Mark White, Jr.  Robbins completely altered the structure in 1899, but did so by building around the old tavern building. This was one of the few inns not to suffer from the coming of the railroads... and it actually profited by the coming of the automobile.  One of our members' parents honeymooned at the inn, by then called the Lake Nagog Inn.  The Society is blessed with china, signs, and many pictures of this more modern inn which was just a brief (relatively) drive from Boston and advertised itself as "a delightful house for the motor party." The Inn came into disuse and was razed in May of 1970 to make way for the building of Nagog Woods.                                          </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>OTHER ACTON TAVERNS AND INNS</B>  </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="monument_house"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>MONUMENT HOUSE</B></div> <div>   </div> <div> <IMG SRC="47fd2730.jpg" border=0 width="210" height="115" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div>      A tavern was built in the Center just to the west of the present firehouse in 1808.  It was owned and operated by Henry Durant (and later Silas Jones). It burned in the fire of 1862, which destroyed much of the Center. The Monument House was built on the location and it, in turn, burned in 1913.</div> <bR> <div>      A tavern operated by Shepley and Davis once occupied the site at the corner of Mass. Ave and Windsor on which the Windsor Hotel in West Acton was later built.  Harold Phalen quotes John Hoar as saying the Windsor Hotel was first used as a boarding house for the men who built the railroad. It is more likely that the hotel came after the railroad in 1848.  But the fire of 1922 finished it in any case.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>BIBLIOGRAPHY</B></div> <bR> <div> Earle, Alice Moore STAGECOACH AND TAVERN DAYS New York 1900</div> <div> Fletcher, Reverend James   ACTON IN HISTORY Philadelphia 1890</div> <div> Lothrop, Elsie EARLY AMERICAN INNS AND TAVERNS NEW YORK 1926</div> <div> Phalen, Harold R.  HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF ACTON   CAMBRIDGE, Mass. 1954</div> <div> Acton Historical Society - VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="acton_s_pirate"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Acton's Pirate</B></div> <div> History of the Town of Acton</div> <div> Harold R. Phalen</div> <div> Pages 120-123</div> <bR> <bR> <div>      Mention has previously made of an Acton legend associated with the building of the second meetinghouse, the Brook's Tavern and the Rocky Guzzle. It has been most interestingly recorded by Rev. Frederick Brooks Noyes, Acton native and a grand-son of Capt. Paul Brooks who was proprietor of the famous tavern at the time of the events about to be cited. (New England Magazine, Nov. 2, 1902) </div> <bR> <div>       The Brooks Tavern, a huge gambrel roofed structure, an excellent watercolor of which by the brush of Mr. Arthur Davis, hangs in the Memorial Library, stood on the level ground at the approximate site of the present residence of Norman Livermore, opposite the school house in Acton Centre. The older inhabitants used to assert that portions of the present building were made in part from wood taken from the old tavern. </div> <bR> <div>      At the time of the episode about to be given a system of turnpikes I connected the centers of the three towns of Concord, Sudbury, and Acton leading to the three best known inns in Middlesex County, f namely, Howe's Tavern in Sudbury {Longfellow's Wayside Inn) Wright's Tavern in Concord, and the Brooks Tavern in Acton. The names of these taverns often appeared in the early records of the three towns in connection with elections, training days and ordination dinners. A whole volume could be written concerning the Brooks Tavern alone and the persons of prominence that were sheltered under its roof, among whom were two presidents of the United States, William Lloyd Garrison and John Greenleaf Whittier, who incidentally planted a pear tree that was thriving at the turn of the century. Had Long fellow lived in Acton he would have found in the tales of the Brooks Tavern more than he found in those of the Wayside Inn. </div> <bR> <div>       Mr. Noyes obtained his information from Miss Elizabeth Brooks who was born in the historic old inn and was six years old at the time of the events in the tale. </div> <bR> <div> Concerning the appearance of the inn itself Mr. Noyes makes the following comment: </div> <bR> <div> <I>"I remember the Brooks Tavern, </I></div> <div> <I>" As somewhat fallen to decay, </I></div> <div> <I> W with weather stains upon the wall, </I></div> <div> <I>And chimneys high and tiled and tall." </I></div> <div> <I>The upper corner blocks of the front door frame were carved with concentric circles, a design we often see today in colonial architecture, but these blocks must have been out of all proportion to the casement, for the wooden rings of prodigious size. The effect was also greatly heightened by the singular fact that the circular spots remained white, while the rest of the building had grown black. When a boy, on my way to school I had to pass this house and I felt as if I were undergoing inspection by an old lady wearing spectacles. The stare of those great eyes over the front door certainly made the inn more unreal and ghostly, for it gave the building an expression which only old age could acquire. Few were alive who could remember when it was used as a tavern but the tales that had come down in our family quickened my imagination, and had a strong historic influence over my early school days." </I></div> <bR> <div>        But to get on with the tale! When the group of sailors previously mentioned arrived by stagecoach and were lodged at the Brooks tavern they occasioned considerable interest. Among them was a man who, although a sailor with the rest, was obviously more than that. Even the village loafers could note the difference, quite apart £from the fine and distinctive scarf which he wore. At the end of a fortnight the sailors departed, with the exception of the strange fellow with the scarf. He remained behind and wrote and received long letters, the incoming ones being from across the ocean. At times he borrowed the landlord's mare and rode down to the Rocky Guzzle where he was seen many times in conference with another horseman. This second rider was a bent and wizened old hermit, well known about the countryside, who lived in .the first house along the bridle path leading from the Rocky Guzzle to Faulkner's mills. He was considered to be a pirate who had come to the same house twenty years previous at which time he was reputed to have buried treasure in the Guzzle. </div> <bR> <div>      One day in the autumn of 1807 the stagecoach swept up to the tavern with an unusual flourish and the bystanders were amazed to see emerge the second and sixth presidents of the United States. The landlord, having heard that they were in Concord, had ridden over and induced them to visit the Brooks Tavern. Whether the presence 0£ the impressive stranger with the distinctive scarf was the factor in the episode is still undisclosed but it is not hard to conclude that in the maze of world politics then existing one thread could be traced to Acton. Paul Brooks may not have gone to Concord to extend the invitation solely on his own initiative. Neither is it likely that the two presidents would have altered their itinerary solely upon the request of a country tavern keeper. If he was sent he was assuredly a man of discretion since no whisper of explanation has come down to posterity. </div> <bR> <div>      Eventually the stranger, who by this time had come to be spoken of as the Count, disappeared, leaving no clue as to his destination or his future plans. The townspeople went about their business with only an occasional query as to who or where he might be. The one sincere mourner over his departure was the landlord's daughter Caroline who watched the arrival of each stagecoach with hope, and each time met only with disappointment. </div> <bR> <div>      In the late autumn when the days were clear and frosty the coach one day approached with a clatter and drew up with a grinding of brakes as the driver hastened into the tavern bearing in his hands the Count's fine blue scarf which he had picked up by the roadside in the Rocky Guzzle It Was hopelessly stained with blood The tavern loungers gossiped, the townspeople debated, and one broken female heart suffered, but all to no avail. Dozens of possible explanations were tossed hither and yon but the truth was not disclosed then or ever. His meetings with the pirate, the visit of the Adamses, the peculiarity of his association with the sailors-all were assessed and re- assessed to unbelievable lengths. </div> <bR> <div>       The year following this incident Capt. Paul Brooks sold the tavern and moved to Westmoreland, N. H. in which town his remains lie today. His widow and three daughters returned to Acton, and for four generations all these traditions have been handed down in the old Brooks house, which is still standing, as in 1807, directly opposite the site of the church on which the young nobleman worked. It is said he often called there. Since the second meetinghouse burned in 1862 and the tavern was razed in 1873, this structure, now the residence of Mr. Howard Billings, is the only building on the Common connected with the tale. </div> <bR> <div>       Regardless of the details of the story there are, however, certain facts that cannot be gainsaid. When a prospective railroad line was surveyed in 1857 it ran through the Rocky Guzzle and the engineers, ordering some of the bank on the east side of the present highway removed, came upon a human skeleton and a few French coins. There is also the additional fact that after the discovery of the skeleton a descendant of the man with whom the old pirate had taken refuge drove regularly at sundown to the woods near the Guzzle, tied his horse to a tree, and passed the night in digging for buried gold. The holes he made were still visible at the turn of the century. There is reason to believe that his efforts were not in vain since shortly he paid off a large and long standing mortgage on his farm and at the time of his death left an estate of proportions which could in no way be otherwise explained. </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="tales_of_buried_treasure"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>TALES OF BURIED TREASURE</B></div> <bR> <div> Colleton Aid Author to Research Lore of Acton, Stow and Maynard</div> <div> December 8, 1966</div> <bR> <div> EDWARD ROWE SNOW, well-known author of tales of sea adventure and mystery, had become interested in the legend of “Rocky Guzzle” in Acton Center. Here from his collection he displays part of a pirate ship discovered off Cape Cod. With him Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Colleton of South Acton who are helping him in his research.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> ACTON -A South Acton couple, and parents of three pre-school age children, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Colleton, have since meeting author Edward Rowe Snow, been discovering some interesting lore about Acton while assisting the author with his research.</div> <bR> <div>      Since Mrs. Colleton met the renowned mystery author on the Bob Kennedy Contact television program, she and her husband have become "spare-time historians" for him. Author Snow has visited Acton and the library on several occasions recently while doing his research on this area. </div> <bR> <div> Evidence of "pirate" activity in Acton became apparent to the Colletons' while they were researching a possible “buried Treasure” in Maynard for author Snow's latest.</div> <bR> <div> After studying and photo-coping old books and documents in the Acton library, visiting an area known as "Rocky Guzzle," off Concord Rd. in Acton Center, and discussing the area with Fred Kennedy, of the Cemetery Dept. headquarters across the street, the Colletons' and Edward Rowe Snow pieced together a most interesting mystery.</div> <bR> <div> In 1807, according to the Colletons', several sailors were hired to help build the steeple which was to set on top of the second Congregational Church in Acton Center, located where the Town Hall now stands.</div> <bR> <div> Among the men was a Frenchman called "the Count” who stood out from the rest, being more educated and cultured. At night, the Frenchman would visit Brooks' Tavern (located were either the Livermore's or Stearns' homes are now) and rendezvous with an old man, whom, it was rumored, was a pirate. He also took long walks down the old: stagecoach line (in Concord Rd. vicinity) where he also met the old man.</div> <bR> <div>      It was rumored at the time that he sent correspondence through the "pirate".</div> <bR> <div>      Shortly after both John Quincy and Samuel Adams stopped in Acton at Brooks' Tavern (before their presidencies), the 'Count boarded a stagecoach for Boston and was never seen again. The fact that both Adams's visited Acton at this time may well be a coincidence. Soon after his disappearance, a blue silk scarf, covered with blood, was found in the wooded area where the Count used to walk. The scarf was easily identified as his, but no trace of the Frenchman was found. </div> <bR> <div>      In 1857, when the Framingham, Lowell and Nashua Railroad was surveying for a possible railroad site in the area, they scraped off part of an embankment and discovered some coins near a skeleton, which is suspected to be the Frenchman. Although it was suspected that there had been a buried treasure there, there is a legend, that a relative of the Count unearthed it some time before and used the treasure to pay off his house mortgage. </div> <bR> <div> Author Snow, the Col1etons told the BEACON, has additional information now which ties the mystery together, and the story may appear in a future collection of. Stories.</div> <bR> <div> Snow has also been involved recent months in researching similar mysteries in the area, including Stow; In the town's Lower Village Cemetery is buried one William Lord Goffe, one of three Englishmen who escaped to this country when a price was placed on his head for sitting in judgment against Char1es 1, who was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell. The men, among 80 wanted Englishmen, settled in this area "Under assumed names during the 1600's.</div> <bR> <div> Until Goffe's death, his where abouts were unknown, though he and the other two men were suspected to be In Massachusetts. What are suspected to be the remains of the other two men, John Dixwell and Edward Whaley, have been unearthed in other Massachusetts towns.</div> <bR> <div> Edward Whaley and' John Dixwell, Were discovered in the western part of the state.</div> <bR> <div> On his deathbed, a resident of Stow for several years, John Greene confessed that he was, in fact. William Lord Goffe. In 1930; Frank Robbins the cemetery keeper in Stow unearthed the grave and found the skeleton headless. Despite the large stone laid over the grave, grave robbers had beheaded the body, probably returning to England to collect the reward.</div> <bR> <div> Edward Rowe Snow who has written a total of 51 books, just recently published the 51<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >st</FONT> “Tales of Sea and Shore.”</div> <bR> <div>      His “assistants” in the Acton area the Colletons, are now involved in helping him research and are eager to learn any further information readers might have concerning local lore, especially the supposed “buried treasure” in Maynard.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> * While I haven't yet found if Edward Rowe Snow wrote a story of Acton's Pirate. I did find: </div> <div> <I>"Were They from Outer Space?" </I></div> <div> a short story that mentions Acton, Ma. in </div> <div> <I>"Super -natural Mysteries and Other Tales"</I> copyright 1974 </div> <div> published by Dodd, Mead & Company, N.Y.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3804e810.jpg" border=0 width="78" height="129" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="famous_landmark_demolished"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Lucida Calligraphy" ><B>Famous Landmark Demolished</B></FONT></div> <div> By Claire LeGault</div> <div> The Assabet Valley Beacon, May 28, 1970</div> <bR> <div> A Fortnight ago the 276 year old Nagog Inn</div> <div> stood among a tangle vines at the side of Great</div> <div> Road in Acton, a reminder of the days when it</div> <div> was a famous vacationing spot.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Acton - Tuesday, May 19,the Nagog Inn on Great Road in Acton was demolished. It had been a part of the Acton scene since 1794 when Daniel White was the first person licensed to keep a tavern at that location. Due to its proximity to Nagog Pond, Daniel White called it the "Pond Tavern", and it continued to be named for this pond throughout its history as a public house. For 235 years from 1794-1929, it was operate continuously as an Inn. Historian Robert Nylander reports that even the Wayside Inn in Sudbury cannot claim such a remarkable record of continuity as it was closed from 1860 until 1896. </div> <bR> <div>      Nylander reports Nagog Inn was an excellent example of the post-Revolutionary type of architecture and it had some very fine late Georgian architectural details, such as the front stairs. By the mid-l9th century (l850'S-I860's) Nagog Inn was owned and operated by Jones Putney. On page 40 of Phalen's "History of Acton" it states "with the coming of the railroad and the cessation of the stage coach traffic, the tavern ceased to function with its former vigor but continued on during the latter part or the nineteenth century under the regime of Ephraim Forbush and William Hartwell. With the era of the automobile and universal vacations, Mr. (Chester) Robbins, in 1899,completely altered the building and grounds."</div> <bR> <div> Nylander states that from personal observation, Chester Robbins' alterations seemed to have been confined to the large dining room wing and. The piazzas around the front and Great Road sides of the house, leaving the original tavern largely intact." Nylander said “his” (Robbins') alterations were done in the Colonial Revival style of architecture prevalent in, 1899, were remarkable for their detail~ and were entire sympathetic to the old original house, making it one of the most atmospheric taverns, or inns, of its type." The bar-room and the dining room were finished in paneling of the William Morris "hand-craft-school", and were "enhanced with wall paper of the same style". This wallpaper was popularly called "Mission”, in the United States. In 1969 the sitting rooms retained the Morris or Mission woodwork and the original “cartridge” or “oatmeal wallpaper of the 1890's.</div> <bR> <div>      Mr. Nylander reports that part of the Nagog Inn Dinner Service and one of the dining room tables have been acquired by the Iron Work Farm of Acton, Incorporated. They will be preserved in Jones' Tavern which' is another of Acton's hhistoric inns. Many historians lament the razing of the Nagog Inn as they feel it was probably one of Acton's most "significant historic landmarks."</div> <bR> <div> A study of history is always an interesting pursuit, and one thing which helps to make history come alive for young people is an anecdote such as the one told to Robert Nylander concerning the inn on the day it opened as the "Nagog Hotel” under Chester Robbing' regime. "Instead of acting as a good landlord, O1ester Robbins spent the evening chasing his maid or cook all around the house", </div> <div> Most of the above historical information was taken from a report submitted to the "Beacon" by Robert Nylander, Great Road, who is a member of the Historical commission. .</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Former gathering place is alive with colonial era detailing</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="hosmer_house_tavern"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Hosmer House Tavern</B></div> <div>  Built in the 1740's, this home was a meeting place for weary travelers </div> <div> who made their way along the Union Turnpike, now Massachusetts Ave.</div> <div> By Lynda Cove</div> <div> Home of the Week, The Boston Heald</div> <div> Friday November 5, 1993</div> <bR> <div> Early American hospitality has been preserved for posterity at Acton's Old Tavern Farm manor. </div> <bR> <div> Stepping past the imposing horse chestnut tree and into the historic home built by the Hosmer family in the <I>1740's </I>and enlarged in the <I>1790's</I> one can almost envision weary travelers dressed in colonial fashions relaxing by the living room's large brick hearth and enjoying a tankard of spirits. </div> <bR> <div> A tavern supply list found on the premises and now the property of Acton's historical society shows the libation of choice at the tavern run by Ephraim Hosmer was rum. Ginger bread was also a popular item. </div> <bR> <div> As often occurred in colonial times, the home was built in two sections. The oldest part was a four- room saltbox constructed in the early 1740s. Then in the 1790s, when the Un ion Turnpike -Massachusetts Avenue -was constructed a stone's throwaway, the house was considerably expanded to be used as a tavern. </div> <bR> <div> The beige clapboard structure, situated on a seven-acre lot and surrounded by fields once tilled for farming, now consists of 15 rooms - including five to six bedrooms and 3 ½ baths. </div> <bR> <div> Period details abound. Wide-pine floorboards, eight working fireplaces, two beehive ovens, wainscoting, stenciling and cupboards offer a glimpse at simple, yet gracious, colonial living. Antique and reproduction furnishings complement the original offerings. </div> <bR> <div> "For a 200-plus year-old-home, it is in remarkable shape," Vivien Tao, a listing broker of the property with DeWolfe New England in Concord, said. "The current owners have preserved and re-stored much of its colonial characteristics." </div> <bR> <div> In 1973, the original carriage house, which is believed to have been built in 1790's was moved and attached to the rear of the manor. Barn board walls, exposed beams, a cathedral ceiling and ceramic tile floor create a rustic barn atmosphere. The 40-by-17-f~ room, with double sliding glass doors that look out to the in ground pool, is utilized as a family room by the current owners. A loft area is used as an artist's studio. </div> <bR> <div>  A breakfast room, formal dining room, gracious front foyer, formal living room and family room are situated on the main level Several of these rooms were part of the tavern. </div> <bR> <div> A spacious Country kitchen, complete with a fireplace, brick floor, cathedral ceiling and built in hutch adjoins the breakfast room. </div> <bR> <div> A traditional herb garden and perennials border found outside the kitchen door enriches the grounds of the 18thcentury estate. These gardens leading to the pool area are both functional and aesthetically pleasing. </div> <bR> <div> Old Tavern Farm is currently on the market with Tao and Sandi McKenney of DeWoIfe New England for$395,000.</div> <bR> <div> The houses to be sold on a subdivided basis. It will neighbor three production colonials to be constructed by William Watt of Country Classic, Inc. Westford. </div> <bR> <div> These "homes will be Situated on one- acre-plus lots and priced in the high $300,000s. Tao and McKenney are the listing brokers for the development, as well. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>