Head Tavern, which in 1755 was kept by George Brewitson. This was the
great resort and stopping place for the farmers and drovers who brought in
cattle for the city market and where they were met by the butchers who
purchased their stock. Thus it was not only a tavern but a sort of market
for live stock or for the meat supply of the city and continued such for
a great many years. The Bull's Head market survives to the present day,
only a little further uptown. Three or four miles out was the Union Flag,
and not far from this was a house which was described as a noted tavern
where lived John Creiger, four miles from New York and ten miles from
King's Bridge.
At the northwest corner of the present 66th Street and Third Avenue stood
the Dove Tavern. From this point the road continued northward for some
distance, and then to avoid the swamps and inlets, turned to the westward,
entering the present bounds of Central Park, and ascended the hill at the
top of which was a large stone tavern. This had been built by Jacob
Dyckman, Jr., near the year 1750, who, about ten years after, sold it to
the Widow McGown, who, with the assistance of her son Andrew, kept the
house, which became known as McGown's Pass Tavern. That the old stone
tavern was a house of generous capacity is evident from its being selected
as the place for the meeting of the colonial assembly, while the City Hall
was being repaired, in October and November, 1752. Just a little south, on
the opposite side of the road, was a tavern, which, shortly before the
Revolution, was known as the Black Horse. It is thought to have been the
headquarters of General Cornwallis during the battle of Harlem Heights.
Dyckman's or McGown's Pass Tavern was about half way between New York and
King's Bridge and there was doubtless a natural demand by travellers on
this part of the road for entertainment, which induced Dyckman to build a
capacious house. Once a week it received a visit from the post rider going
out and once a week on his return. It must necessarily have received
considerable trade from passing travellers, farmers and drovers, for it
was on the one road which led out of the city, and its capacity to
entertain attracted many a dinner party of those who followed the hounds,
for fox-hunting was a sport indulged in by many New Yorkers at that time.
McGown's Pass was the scene of some activity in the first year of the
Revolution, and was fortified and occupied by the British troops during
the whole seven years of the war. Early on the morning of September 15,
1776, the English ships lying in the East River opened fire for the
purpose of silencing the American battery at Horn's Hook and to cover the
British landing at Kip's Bay. Washington had a few days previous removed
his headquarters to the Roger Morris house, from which could be had an
extensive view to the south, including the East River shores. Warned by
the bombardment that something important was about to take place,
Washington, in haste, mounted his horse and dashed down at utmost speed
over the road past McGown's to the scene of action. This ride was
something like that celebrated ride of General Phil Sheridan about ninety
years later, but not with similar results. Before he arrived at Murray
Hill, the British troops had landed, and the Americans were in full
retreat. Two months later a sad spectacle was witnessed at McGown's Pass
as the twenty-eight hundred prisoners taken at the surrender of Fort
Washington filed down over the hills to New York. Many had been plundered
by the Hessians, and all of them showed the effects of the desperately
fought battle through which they had passed. They were on their way to
years of suffering, many on their way to death in English prisons, which,
happily for them, they did not then understand.
[Illustration: THE ROGER MORRIS HOUSE]
[Sidenote: The Blue Bell]
On the road about a mile further north after leaving McGown's there was a
tavern standing near where the present St. Nicholas Avenue crosses 126th
Street, which, about the time of the Revolution and for many years after,
was known as Day's Tavern; and about three miles further was the Blue
Bell, which, although a small house, seems to have been well known at a
very early period and to have continued its existence down to quite recent
times. From the Blue Bell to King's Bridge was about two and a half miles.
[Illustration: THE BLUE BELL TAVERN]
[Sidenote: King's Bridge]
At the most northern point of the island was the only place in its whole
circumference from which, in early days, the mainland could be reached by
a ford. It was called the Wading Place. Near this a ferry was established,
but as early as 1680 the governor's council ordered "Spiting Devil" to be
viewed for a bridge. Action was delayed. Governor Fletcher in 1692
recommended its construction by the city, but the city declined on account
of the expense. In January, 1693, Frederick Flypsen offered to build a
bridge at his own expense, if he were allowed certain "easy and reasonable
toles," and he was accordingly granted the franchise for ninety-nine
years. A bridge was constructed by him the same year. It was to be
twenty-four feet wide, with a draw for the passage of such vessels as
navigated the stream; to be free for the King's forces and to be named the
King's Bridge. This bridge was in possession of some member of the
Philipse family, descendant of Frederick Flypsen, until the Revolutionary
War, and was, no doubt, before the free bridge was built, a profitable
investment. A tavern was opened on the northern side for the entertainment
of travellers. Madam Sarah Knight, in returning to Boston in December,
1704, set out with her companions "about one afternoon, and about three
came to half-way house about ten miles out of town, where we Baited and
went forward, and about 5 come to Spiting Devil, Else King's Bridge, where
they pay three pence for passing over with a horse, which the man that
keeps the Gate set up at the end of the Bridge receives." The half-way
house, spoken of by Madam Knight, stood at the foot of the hill on the
Kingsbridge Road on a line with the present 109th Street. We find that in
1746 there was a public vendue of lots of land at the Half-Way House,
near Harlem, which was very likely the same place.
On account of the barrier gate and the tolls demanded, the King's Bridge,
as travel increased, became unpopular and, in 1756, a project was set on
foot for building a free bridge by voluntary subscriptions. When
sufficient had been secured, Benjamin Palmer, who was active in the
undertaking, began the work of building the bridge a little below the
first bridge, from the land of Jacob Dyckman, on the island, to that of
Thomas Vermilve on the Westchester side. Colonel Phillipse, the owner of
King's Bridge, tried in every way to prevent its construction. Twice in
one year he caused Palmer to be impressed "as a soldier to go to Canada,"
which compelled him to procure and pay for substitutes. Nevertheless, in
spite of all opposition, the bridge was finished, and the celebration of
its completion was announced as follows:
"These are to acquaint the public, That to-morrow the Free Bridge, erected
and built across the Harlem River, will be finished and completed. And on
the same day there will be a stately Ox roasted whole on the Green, for
and as a small Entertainment to the Loyal People who come."
[Sidenote: The Best Taverns]
The following memoranda from the manuscript diary of Paymaster General
Mortier, of the royal navy, indicates the taverns of New York that were
probably most patronized by the fashionable gentlemen of the day, for the
few years preceding 1761:
1758 Jan. 1 At the Assembly 2. 6
Feb. 18 Dinner at the Glass House 3. 5
Mar. 1 " " Black Sam's 1.10
28 " " Scotch Johnny's 5. 6
30 Willett's Assembly 8.
June 10 To the Band of Music of the 46th 8.
18 Dinner at the Coffee House 5. 6
1759 May Supper at Farrell's 9.
Farrell Wine 1. 1. 6
1760 Jan. Towards a ball at King's Arms 1. 0.
Subscription to the Concert 1.12.
Subscription to a ball at Byrnes 12.
To one week at the Coffee House 2.
Feb. 2 To one week at the Coffee House 2.
19 To one week at the Coffee House 2.
Mar. 28 Dinner at the Fountain 8.
Apr. 4 Supper at Byrnes' 8.
5 " " the Fountain 6.
18 " " the Fountain 8.
The piece of land, now the block inclosed by Broadway, Fulton, Nassau and
Ann Streets, or nearly so, was, in the early part of the eighteenth
century, a public resort, and known as Spring Garden. There was a tavern
or public house on the premises known as Spring Garden House, standing on
the site of the present St. Paul's Building, corner of Broadway and Ann
Street, which in 1739 was occupied by Thomas Scurlock, who may have been
in possession of it for some time. In an administration bond given by him
in 1718 he is styled _vintner_. Spring Garden House appears to have been a
well-known landmark, used as such in records and in the newspapers.
After the death of Thomas Scurlock in 1747 the tavern was kept for some
years by his widow, Eve. When the house was advertised for sale in 1759 it
was described as "in Broadway at the corner of Spring Garden, now in use
as a tavern, Sign of the King of Prussia, and next door to Dr. Johnson's"
(President of King's College). In 1763 the landlord of the house was John
Elkin. After about 1770 we hear no more of it as a tavern.
VI
TAVERN SIGNS
[Sidenote: The Comforts of a Good Inn]
Samuel Johnson, born in 1709, was in his prime about the middle of the
eighteen the century. His description of the advantages afforded by a good
inn has not yet been surpassed. Here it is:
"There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as
at a capital tavern. Let there be ever so great plenty of good things,
ever so much grandeur, ever so much elegance, ever so much desire that
everybody should be easy, in the nature of things it cannot be; there must
always be some degree of care and anxiety. The master of the house is
anxious to entertain his guests; the guests are anxious to be agreeable to
him; and no man, but a very impudent dog indeed, can freely command what
is in another man's house as if it were his own. Whereas, at a tavern
there is general freedom from anxiety. You are sure you are welcome, and
the more noise you make, the more trouble you give, the more good things
you call for, the welcomer you are. No servant will attend you with the
alacrity which waiters do, who are incited by the prospect of an immediate
reward in proportion as they please. No sir, there is nothing which has
yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a
good inn."
Another writer, whose name is unrecorded or lost in the sweep of time, has
said that the tavern "is the busy man's recreation, the idle man's
business, the melancholy man's sanctuary, the stranger's welcome."
Samuel Johnson, if in New York, would not have found at any tavern such
congenial companions as at the Turk's Head, in Soho. New York did not have
an Oliver Goldsmith, nor a Sir Joshua Reynolds, nor an Edmund Burke,
nor--but Boswell would have been with him. Barring the companionship of
such men he could have been made as comfortable at the Queen's Head in
Dock Street as at his familiar tavern in London. He could have taken his
cup of tea, his favorite drink, in one of the boxes of the Merchants'
Coffee House and then strolled into Garrat Noel's bookstore next door
where he could have found food for his mind after his corporeal needs had
been supplied. Here was literature of the solid sort, as Noel's
announcements in the newspapers inform us, and Dr. Johnson might have
easily imagined himself in the bookstore of Tom Davies--one of his
familiar haunts.
[Sidenote: The Landlord]
The accomplished tavern-keeper of New York, as well as of London, knew how
to welcome his guest and from long experience instinctively knew how to
reach his heart. After receiving him with the most unbounded cordiality,
occasionally dropping him a piece of news which he knew would interest
him, or one of his newest jokes, he soon made him feel glad to be in his
house. When the dinner was ready he was on hand to place the first dish on
the table and to give him his company if he saw that it was desirable.
[Illustration: THE OLD TIME LANDLORD]
In colonial times signs were extensively used. The hardware dealer placed
above his door a sign of Crossed Daggers, or a Golden Handsaw, or a Golden
Key; some used the sign of the Crossed Guns. A carriage-maker used the
sign of the Gilded Wheel, a tailor that of the Hand and Shears. Thus the
business streets were filled with signs, and a well-known or prominent
sign was invariably used as a landmark to designate locations of other
houses. Tavern signs were much used in this way. Houses were not numbered,
and in the low state of education, numbers as well as worded signs would
have been of little use. Taverns obtained their names from the signs hung
out; and the tavern sign had a wider range of diversity than that of any
other business. It was almost unlimited; but there were certain favorites.
Sometimes tavern-keepers clung tenaciously to signs which they carried
with them from place to place--and the tavern-keeper of colonial times
appears to have been a roving character.
[Illustration: "HARD DRINKING PREVAILED"]
[Sidenote: Hard Drinking Prevailed]
Some features of tavern life and some of the taverns of New York were not
to be commended. The eighteenth century was a period when hard drinking
pervaded not only the American colonies but England as well. Even
preachers of the Gospel drank to excess. They were known to indulge at
church meetings so as to lose control of both speech and gait. Unable to
withstand the alluring temptations, they drank to excess without
forfeiting the respect of their people. The Reverend Jacob G. Green, of
Morris County, New Jersey, although so pious that he would not allow any
member of his family to converse on any but religious subjects on a
Sunday, did not hesitate to engage in the business of manufacturing
distilled liquor. At funerals, as well as at weddings, wine and rum were
consumed in excessive quantities, and it is a fact that persons were known
to stagger in the funeral procession and at the brink of the grave. At the
funeral of a colonial governor it is said that the minister's nose glowed
like a coal of fire, and the aged bearers staggered as they bore the
coffin. The Reverend Samuel Melyen, pastor of the First Church of
Elizabethtown, was obliged to give up his church on account of
intemperance; but this did not seem to the people to be a warning example,
for when his successor, Jonathan Dickinson, a young man of twenty-one, was
installed, we are told that "great quantities of toddy was consumed." When
Philip Livingston died in 1749, funerals were held both at his Hudson
River mansion and at his residence in Broad Street, New York. At each of
these places a pipe of spiced rum was consumed, and to the eight bearers
were given gloves, mourning rings, scarfs, handkerchiefs and monkey
spoons. When intemperance was looked upon with such indulgence it is
hardly to be expected that the young and gay men of the period would
exercise much restraint; and many a convivial party at the tavern ended in
a drinking bout, and sometimes in a riot of drunkenness and debauchery. A
man in the condition which we of the present day would think quite drunk,
and a proper subject for the care of his friends or relatives, was at
that time considered to have taken only a proper modicum of drink. No man
was looked upon as drunk until he was entirely down and out. The
prevailing formula was:
"Not drunk is he who from the floor
Can rise again and still drink more,
But drunk is he who prostrate lies,
Without the power to drink or rise."
[Illustration: GOOD OLD MADEIRA]
In New England rum was so extensively made that the price became as low
as twenty-five cents per gallon. It was popularly called "Kill-devil." In
New Jersey large quantities of apple-jack were turned out, which, when
new, was quite fiery, and this was called "Jersey lightning." Servants
were not expected to be entirely free from the drinking habit, which,
within certain bounds, was looked upon by their employers as pardonable.
Announcement was made in the New York _Gazette_ and _Weekly Mercury_ of
December 4, 1769, that
"An Hostler
That gets drunk no more than 12 times in a year and will bring with
him a good Recommendation, is wanted. Such person will meet with
encouragement by applying to H. Gaine."
[Sidenote: Sports and Amusements]
In the middle of the eighteenth century we find that New Yorkers were fond
of all kinds of sports and all kinds of amusements that were available.
The city was making rapid strides in increase of wealth and population.
Many of her wealthy merchants had built large and handsome houses and
there was more gaiety and desire for entertainment among her people. For
balls, banquets, social clubs and exhibition of all sorts, each tavern of
importance had, if possible, its "long room." There was no other provision
or place for public assemblage. Some had delightful gardens attached to
them, which, in summer evenings, were illuminated and sometimes the
guests were entertained with music. Boating and fishing were largely
indulged in and people of means who lived on the waterside had pleasure
boats. In 1752 John Watson was keeping the Ferry House on Staten Island.
In December of that year "a Whale 45 feet in length ran ashore at Van
Buskirk's Point at the entrance of the Kills from our Bay, where, being
discovered by People from Staten Island, a number of them went off and
Killed him." Mr. Watson states in an advertisement in the New York
_Gazette_ of December 11, 1752, that this whale may be seen at his house,
and doubtless this announcement may have induced many to make the trip
across the bay to see the whale and add to the profits of John Watson's
tavern.
The Reverend Mr. Burnaby, who visited the city about 1748, says: "The
amusements are balls and sleighing expeditions in the winter, and in the
summer going in parties upon the water and fishing, or making excursions
into the country. There are several houses, pleasantly situated up the
East River, near New York, where it is common to have turtle feasts. These
happen once or twice a week. Thirty or forty gentlemen and ladies, meet
and dine together, drink tea in the afternoon, fish and amuse themselves
till evening, and then return home in Italian chaises (the fashionable
carriage in this and most parts of America), a gentleman and lady in each
chaise." These trips up the East River were made to Turtle Bay. One of
the houses there about this time, or a little later, was well known as the
Union Flag, situated on the post road. A lot of about 22 acres of land was
attached to the tavern, extending to the river, on which was a good wharf
and landing. Deep drinking and gambling were prevalent among the men,
although tavern-keepers were forbidden by law from permitting gambling in
their houses. Cock-fighting was a popular sport. At the sign of the
Fighting Cocks--an appropriate sign--in Dock Street, "very good cocks"
could be had, or at the Dog's Head in the Porridge Pot. Steel and silver
spurs could be purchased in the stores. The loser of a broad cloth coat
advertises in the newspaper that it was lost on a cockfighting night
(supposed taken by mistake).
The Common was a place where outdoor games were played in the daytime and
bonfires built at night on festive occasions. On Monday, April 29, 1751, a
great match at cricket was played here for a considerable wager by eleven
Londoners against eleven New Yorkers. The newspaper account states that
"The Game was play'd according to the London Method; and those who got
most Notches in two Hands, to be the Winners:--The New Yorkers went in
first and got 81; Then the Londoners went in and got but 43; Then the New
Yorkers went in again and got 86; and the Londoners finished the Game with
getting only 37 more."
The game of bowls seems to have been quite popular in the early part of
the eighteenth century. It was played upon a smooth, level piece of turf
from forty to sixty feet square, surrounded by a ditch about six inches
deep. At the further end of the ground was placed a white ball called the
jack and the bowlers endeavored, with balls from six to eight inches in
diameter that were not exactly round but weighted on one side so as to
roll in a curve, to make their balls lie as near to the jack as possible.
Back-gammon was an evening game at the taverns and at the coffee-house. In
1734 a partisan of the governor's party, under the nom de plume of Peter
Scheme wrote in reply to an article in Zenger's Journal: "I also frequent
the Coffee House, to take a hitt at Back-Gammon, when I have an
opportunity of hearing the curious sentiments of the Courtiers (since he
is pleased to call the Gentlemen who frequent that place so) concerning
his Journal." It is apparent that the popularity of the game continued for
many years, for Alexander Mackraby, in a letter dated June 13, 1768, says:
"They have a vile practice here, which is peculiar to the city: I mean
that of playing at back-gammon (a noise I detest), which is going forward
at the public coffee-houses from morning till night, frequently a dozen
tables at a time."
[Sidenote: Horse-Racing]
From the very beginning of English rule in New York, horse-racing seems to
have been a fashionable sport among people of means. It has been stated
how Governor Nicolls established a race-course on Hempstead Plains, and
since that time interest in the sport had been kept up, increasing as the
population and wealth of the city increased. Races were held yearly on the
Hempstead course and it is more than likely that a course was soon
established on Manhattan Island. In 1733 we find an announcement in a New
York newspaper that a race would be run on the 8th of October on the
course at New York for a purse of upwards of four pounds by any horse,
mare or gelding carrying twelve stone and paying five shillings entrance,
the entrance money to go to the second horse if not distanced. There is no
mention made of the location of the course, but a notice that horses that
have won plate here are excepted indicates that it was probably a yearly
event. Three years later we find that a subscription plate of twenty
pounds' value was to be run for on the course at New York on the 13th of
October "by any horse, mare or gelding carrying ten stone (saddle and
bridle included), the best of three heats, two miles each heat. Horses
intended to Run for this Plate are to be entered the Day before the Race
with Francis Child on Fresh Water Hill, paying a half Pistole each, or at
the Post on the Day of Running, paying a Pistole." This course on Fresh
Water Hill had probably been established for some time and its location
was very likely near the present Chatham Square. In 1742 there was a
race-course on the Church Farm in charge of Adam Vandenberg, the lessee of
the farm, who was landlord of the Drovers' Tavern, which stood on or near
the site of the present Astor House.
In seeking information from the newspapers of the day in regard to
horse-racing, we find very little, if any, in the news columns; but more
is to be found among the advertisements. Thus, in January, 1743-4, it is
announced that a race would be run on the first day of March "between a
Mare called Ragged Kate, belonging to Mr. Peter De Lancey, and a Horse
called Monk, belonging to the Hon. William Montagu, Esq., for £200." It is
not stated where this race was to take place, but, in all probability, it
was run either on the Fresh Water Hill course or on the Church Farm. It
was for an unusually large wager, and, no doubt, attracted a great deal of
attention. From about this date we hear no more of the race-course on
Fresh Water Hill. It may have been disturbed by the line of palisades
which was built across the island during the war with France, crossing the
hill between the present Duane and Pearl Streets, at which point was a
large gateway.