Smith Tavern
Encyclopedia
The former Smith Tavern is located on Bedford Road (state highway
NY 22
) in the hamlet of Armonk
, New York, United States. It is a red frame building dating to the late 18th century, one of the few left in a region that has rapidly suburbanized over the past century. The Smith family, for whom it is named, did not build it but owned it for most of the 19th century.
It has seen many uses over its existence, most of them important to the development of the Town of North Castle
. During the Revolutionary War
it served as headquarters for the local militia. It was a frequent overnight stop for stagecoaches between New York City and Danbury, Connecticut
. Later it was the post office and offices of the town clerk. Yale University
owned it briefly, and it was also a parsonage for a nearby church. Two owners renovated it extensively, one reverting an addition made by the other. In 1977 it became the town's historical museum, and six years later it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
. A church is to the northeast.
A small fieldstone wall separates the building from the road. It is a clapboard
-sided building on a stone foundation
in three sections. The main one is five by two bays
on the south (front) elevation and four in the rear, its two stories topped with a gable
d roof shingled in asphalt and pierced by a single brick chimney. On the northeast, the wing that includes the original house is two by two bays and two stories high with a shallow pitched hipped roof
. It has been extended to the northwest to create a garage.
Ornamentation
on the building is minimal. At the roofline there is a simple cornice
and returns. The windows have simple wooden sills and lintels. At the center of the first story, the main entrance is a double door with glass transom
. The rear entrance is off-center.
On the inside the largest rooms on each story are in the southwest section. The meeting room on the first floor has a fireplace, paneling and wide floorboards, both in pine and all original. Other rooms on the floor have their original flooring and late 19th century wallpaper. In the master bedroom above it, museum collection items like tools and toys are displayed. The other bedrooms also have similar decor to their downstairs counterparts.
. The local militia was headquartered at a tavern on the site in 1779. The first known owner, a Quaker named Benjamin Hopkins, sheltered refugees from British-occupied New York City
there early in the war before himself departing for Fishkill
in search of more neutral territory.
The British burned his house along White Plains Road in 1779, along with others in Bedford
, and may have burned his tavern as well, then occupied by a tenant named Ichabod Ogden. It is possible that the current tavern may have been built around what remained afterwards.
By 1792, the tavern was owned by a Benjamin Tripp. Records show that the Town Board of that time met at the town clerk's office (his house) and then went to the tavern afterwards. The town clerk, Harrison Palmer, bought the tavern himself in the early 1790s, making the board's post-meeting trip unnecessary.
In 1797, Palmer sold the tavern to John Smith, a former Continental Army
captain who had spent most of the war as a prisoner
. He was elected town clerk the following year. Soon all political activity in the town, debates and rallies as well as meetings of official bodies, took place at the tavern. Since it was located at the 37th milestone
along the Danbury
Post Road, it was a frequent place for the stagecoach
to overnight on the road, and its passengers gave the rural town a connection to events in the city and New England
.
John Smith ran the tavern, farmed the nearby land and served as town clerk until 1830, when he was succeeded by his son Samuel. In 1809, when the local post office was established there, he was its first postmaster
. By the time he left the post in 1855, the rise of the railroad displaced the Danbury stagecoach, and the inn became less locally important, eventually ceasing all commercial function and becoming the family house. Samuel Smith continued to live there and farm the land until his death in 1884.
His heirs sold it to Odle Knapp, a successful farmer from nearby Greenwich, Connecticut
, who gave it to his son and daughter-in-law as a wedding gift. Augustus and Kate Knapp expanded and renovated the house greatly in 1898. They replaced all the front windows, extended the northeast wing and added a second story to it. A front gable and Victorian
porch they added were later removed to restore the tavern's historical appearance.
In 1905 they sold the house and accompanying farmlands to a George Smith of Armonk, unrelated to the original owners. He farmed the land until selling it 11 years later, in 1916. The buyer, Fay Stanton of New York, was taken with the building's history and tried to revive it as a tavern, the Red Jacket Inn. It failed, and two years it and the remaining 17 acres (6.9 ha) of the farm were sold at auction to wealthy New York City businessman John Sterling, joining a number of rental properties he owned in the area.
Sterling died later that year, and willed
the property to his alma mater
, Yale University
. Almost two decades passed before the trustees of his estate transferred the property. Yale sold it and what was now five acres (2 ha) to Franklin and Frances Brown two years later. They began renovating it extensively, and sold it six years later to another couple, the Datlowes, who continued the renovations.
The combined work by the two couples was the most extensive done on the house. The Knapps' porch and gable were removed, and the chimney rebuilt. Inside, much of the wallpaper was removed to reveal the original paneling, and the kitchen and bathrooms modernized. The finished house was painted in its current colors.
The Datlowes sold it in 1974 to the nearby Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, which used as a parsonage and meeting place. Three years later, the church decided to build a more modern facility for this latter purpose, and sold the house and the last two acres of its original holdings to the North Castle Historical Society. It was converted into a museum and has remained in that role ever since. The society's docent
s offer guided tours two days a week.
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
NY 22
New York State Route 22
New York State Route 22 is a north–south state highway in eastern New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the state's eastern edge from the outskirts of New York City to a short distance south of the Canadian border. At , it is the state's longest north–south route and...
) in the hamlet of Armonk
Armonk, New York
Armonk is a hamlet and census-designated place located in the town of North Castle in Westchester County, New York. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,330....
, New York, United States. It is a red frame building dating to the late 18th century, one of the few left in a region that has rapidly suburbanized over the past century. The Smith family, for whom it is named, did not build it but owned it for most of the 19th century.
It has seen many uses over its existence, most of them important to the development of the Town of North Castle
North Castle, New York
North Castle is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 11,841 at the 2010 census. It has no villages.-Geography:...
. During the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
it served as headquarters for the local militia. It was a frequent overnight stop for stagecoaches between New York City and Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
. Later it was the post office and offices of the town clerk. Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
owned it briefly, and it was also a parsonage for a nearby church. Two owners renovated it extensively, one reverting an addition made by the other. In 1977 it became the town's historical museum, and six years later it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Building
The 2 acre (0.809372 ha) lot the tavern sits on is located on the north side of Route 22, a north-south highway which runs closer to east-west at this point, paralleling the Connecticut state line. It is in a residential area of large and mostly wooded properties a half-mile north along the highway from a commercial area between the junctions with Byram Lake Road and NY 433New York State Route 433
New York State Route 433 is a short state highway located entirely in the town of North Castle in Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It runs for from the Connecticut state line, where it continues south into Greenwich as a local highway known as Riversville Road, to an...
. A church is to the northeast.
A small fieldstone wall separates the building from the road. It is a clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
-sided building on a stone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
in three sections. The main one is five by two bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
on the south (front) elevation and four in the rear, its two stories topped with a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof shingled in asphalt and pierced by a single brick chimney. On the northeast, the wing that includes the original house is two by two bays and two stories high with a shallow pitched hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
. It has been extended to the northwest to create a garage.
Ornamentation
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
on the building is minimal. At the roofline there is a simple cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and returns. The windows have simple wooden sills and lintels. At the center of the first story, the main entrance is a double door with glass transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
. The rear entrance is off-center.
On the inside the largest rooms on each story are in the southwest section. The meeting room on the first floor has a fireplace, paneling and wide floorboards, both in pine and all original. Other rooms on the floor have their original flooring and late 19th century wallpaper. In the master bedroom above it, museum collection items like tools and toys are displayed. The other bedrooms also have similar decor to their downstairs counterparts.
History
It is unclear exactly when the current building was built, but there had been a tavern at the site since at least the RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. The local militia was headquartered at a tavern on the site in 1779. The first known owner, a Quaker named Benjamin Hopkins, sheltered refugees from British-occupied New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
there early in the war before himself departing for Fishkill
Fishkill (town), New York
Fishkill is an affluent suburban town in the southwest part of Dutchess County, New York, USA. The population was 20,258 at the 2000 census, however, current estimates put the town's population at over 22,100. Fishkill partly surrounds the city of Beacon....
in search of more neutral territory.
The British burned his house along White Plains Road in 1779, along with others in Bedford
Bedford (town), New York
Bedford is a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. The population was 17,335 at the 2010 census.The Town of Bedford is located in the northeastern part of Westchester County, and contains the three hamlets of Bedford Hills, Bedford Village, and Katonah...
, and may have burned his tavern as well, then occupied by a tenant named Ichabod Ogden. It is possible that the current tavern may have been built around what remained afterwards.
By 1792, the tavern was owned by a Benjamin Tripp. Records show that the Town Board of that time met at the town clerk's office (his house) and then went to the tavern afterwards. The town clerk, Harrison Palmer, bought the tavern himself in the early 1790s, making the board's post-meeting trip unnecessary.
In 1797, Palmer sold the tavern to John Smith, a former Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
captain who had spent most of the war as a prisoner
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. He was elected town clerk the following year. Soon all political activity in the town, debates and rallies as well as meetings of official bodies, took place at the tavern. Since it was located at the 37th milestone
Milestone
A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...
along the Danbury
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
Post Road, it was a frequent place for the stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
to overnight on the road, and its passengers gave the rural town a connection to events in the city and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
John Smith ran the tavern, farmed the nearby land and served as town clerk until 1830, when he was succeeded by his son Samuel. In 1809, when the local post office was established there, he was its first postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
. By the time he left the post in 1855, the rise of the railroad displaced the Danbury stagecoach, and the inn became less locally important, eventually ceasing all commercial function and becoming the family house. Samuel Smith continued to live there and farm the land until his death in 1884.
His heirs sold it to Odle Knapp, a successful farmer from nearby Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
, who gave it to his son and daughter-in-law as a wedding gift. Augustus and Kate Knapp expanded and renovated the house greatly in 1898. They replaced all the front windows, extended the northeast wing and added a second story to it. A front gable and Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
porch they added were later removed to restore the tavern's historical appearance.
In 1905 they sold the house and accompanying farmlands to a George Smith of Armonk, unrelated to the original owners. He farmed the land until selling it 11 years later, in 1916. The buyer, Fay Stanton of New York, was taken with the building's history and tried to revive it as a tavern, the Red Jacket Inn. It failed, and two years it and the remaining 17 acres (6.9 ha) of the farm were sold at auction to wealthy New York City businessman John Sterling, joining a number of rental properties he owned in the area.
Sterling died later that year, and willed
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
the property to his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Almost two decades passed before the trustees of his estate transferred the property. Yale sold it and what was now five acres (2 ha) to Franklin and Frances Brown two years later. They began renovating it extensively, and sold it six years later to another couple, the Datlowes, who continued the renovations.
The combined work by the two couples was the most extensive done on the house. The Knapps' porch and gable were removed, and the chimney rebuilt. Inside, much of the wallpaper was removed to reveal the original paneling, and the kitchen and bathrooms modernized. The finished house was painted in its current colors.
The Datlowes sold it in 1974 to the nearby Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, which used as a parsonage and meeting place. Three years later, the church decided to build a more modern facility for this latter purpose, and sold the house and the last two acres of its original holdings to the North Castle Historical Society. It was converted into a museum and has remained in that role ever since. The society's docent
Museum docent
Museum docent is a title used in the United States for educators trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collections of the institution, including local and national museums, zoos, historical landmarks, and parks. In many cases, docents, in addition to their...
s offer guided tours two days a week.