Col. Morehouse’s Revolutionary Tavern in Dutchess County, NY

Col. Morehouse’s Revolutionary Tavern in Dutchess County, NY

Illustration of Morehouse Tavern from P.H. Smith 

In the summer of 2018, my wife and I took a genealogy trip to New York and New England to visit the haunts of some of my ancestors. My 5^th g.grandfather, Andrew Morehouse (1726-1801), a Lt. Colonel (although always refereed to as Col. Morehouse) in the Dutchess County militia, owned and operated a tavern in Wingdale, near South Dover, Dutchess County, NY. It was located on the main “highway” from Hartford, CT to Fishkill, Dutchess Co., NY.  There was supposed to be a NY State Highway Marker designating the spot where the Tavern stood, somewhere near the intersection old Rte 22 and Rte 55 in South Dover.  Alas, no marker was to be found. We even sought the help of the good librarians of the South Dover Public Library (which was also at that intersection), but they had no idea, either. After driving around, we gave up and proceeded on our journey.

Why all this fuss about a Tavern that no longer exists?  My 5^th g.grandfather’s Inn, the Morehouse Tavern, as it was known, was a frequent stop for General George Washington and other officers during the Revolutionary War.  P.H. Smith in his “General History of Dutchess County from 1609 to 1876 inclusive,” says “Washington, Gates, Putnam, Arnold, Heath, Parsons, Lafayette and other distinguished leaders have been entertained and there Rochambeau and his officers have lodged.” General Washington and his entourage stayed at Morehouse’s Tavern on or about 24 September 1780, when Col. Morehouse presented a bill for $808.00 for 26 meals, “cyder,” and caring for 49 horses.

General Washington stayed again at Morehouse’s on March 2-3, 1781 (Morehouse was paid 1,034 Continental dollars for expenses.) enroute to Newport, RI.  Washington wrote three letters from Morehouse’s Tavern: one to Jean B. Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau at New Port, one to Charles Rene D. Sochet (Chevalier) des Touches also at New Port (both of these letters were written by Alexander Hamilton, but signed by George Washington) and one to William Heath. The letters to the French officers is particularly interesting because Washington had been encouraging the French Fleet to leave Newport to engage the British in the Chesapeake and assist the Marquis de Lafayette in his pursuit of Benedict Arnold, now a British general wreaking havoc in Virginia. And he was telling them that he was on his way to press the point. He stayed at Morehouse’s on the way back from Newport (about March 19, 1781) and Morehouse was paid $592 dollars for expenses.

The French military officer, Marquis De Chastellux, writing in his “Voyage De M, Le Marquis De Chastellux in North America in 1780, 1781, and 1782,” makes note of his stay at the Morehouse Tavern in November 1780 saying that the Inn was “kept by Colonel Morehouse: for in America is nothing is more common than to see a Colonel an inn keeper. They are for most part Colonels of Militias, chosen by the Militia itself, which rarely fails to instruct the command to the most honest and best accredited citizens.” He went on to describe and praise his stay at the Inn. He again stayed at the Inn in December 1782, but this time he was less praiseworthy, noting that “I had no reason to praise the Inn of Morehouse. The Colonel who had given it his name kept it no longer, but had conveyed to his son, who was absent, so that there were only some women in the house. M. Dillon, who had gone a little in advance had all the trouble in the world to make them kill some chickens. Our supper was poor, and after it was finished and we had withdrawn to the chimney corner, we saw the women, to the number of four, seat themselves at the table in our places, and eat the rest of our supper, with an American dragon, who stationed there. This caused us some anxiety on account of our men. We learned afterwards that the women had left them only a very little portion of the supper.” By this time, Col. Morehouse had sold the Tavern to his son, David Morehouse, who apparently let the place run down.

The Tavern was torn down about 1877 after being in ruin for many years and then forgotten. The exact site of the Tavern was later determined by Howard C. Rice, a librarian at Princeton University in 1962 by a re-examination of De Chastellux’ “Voyage De M, Le Marquis De Chastellux in North America in 1780, 1781, and 1782.”  His findings are described in the Poughkeepsie Journal 19 August 1962 “Princeton Scholar Helps in ‘Finding’ Dover Tavern Famous in Revolution” by Helen Myers. He noted the exact spot where the tavern stood and remarked that there ought to be a marker or a reproduction of the old tavern. But, alas, no marker is there now (or I completely missed it!).

While searching the internet for information about Morehouse’s Tavern, I came across the Library of Congress site of historic American buildings, and there was a photograph attributed to be the Morehouse Tavern in Wingdale, Dutchess Co, NY. The photo was taken in 1940 as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS No. NY-6281).

However, the book by Hasbrouck, Frank, “The History of Dutchess County, New York,” (1909), has a photograph of the real Morehouse Tavern circa 1870 and indeed it was in ruin and that the tavern was torn down about 1877. The Library of Congress photograph is in error as the photo was certainly NOT of the Morehouse Tavern in South Dover, NY. The illustration in P.H. Smith’s book closely resembles the Morehouse Tavern photograph from Hasbrouck. Always look for multiple sources! Another post will look at General Washington’s stays at the Inn and his relationship with Col. Morehouse.

Alleged Morehouse Tavern from LoC

Morehouse Tavern circa 1877 from F. Housbrouck