Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1910-03-03
|O[D tavern CHARGES
:. Cost Of Living at a Turnpike Inn
Near New York In 1886.
LOW PRICES THE RULE THEN

he Regular Tariff For Dinner Wa.
~ Cents, and a Wedding Breakfast
rs For Six, With Twelve Quarts Of Oats
on the Side, Cost Just Size.
Guarded as carefully as any of the
guests jewels that lie beside it in the
Dig safe Of a great and glittering
Broadway hotel in New York city and
treasured by the proprietor more than
lts weight In gold is an old cashbook
The entries run from March to De-
eember, 1916. They record in quaint,
| descriptive phrases the comings and
sgolngs of the travellers who stopped at
| Wayside inn on turnpike road less
than 100 miles from New York. This
! tavern was kept by the Broadway no.
tel proprietor's grandfather The build
ing of the railroad, the passing of the
| stagecoach and the changes Of more
| than half century have obliterated
| this once famous old inn at South Dur
| nam, and now all that remains of it Is
this ancient book, which served not
only as record Of cash received, but
| took the place Of the modern hotel
register.
The prices charged by this innkeep-
er of long ago are as far removed
from those exacted today as this an
Gent hostelry is from the gorgeous
summer hotels of the countryside
where it once stood. The regular price
for dinner was 10 cents, but even
this appears to have been ''cut' to fire.
quent travellers. For instance, there is
an entry Of Candy peddler from Al
bany, two meals and lodging, 81
cents" Almost every entry is brief
| description of the individual traveller
and what he got-for example, Free
kle faced, eagle nosed boy, hay, sup
per. lodging and grease, 81 cents"
This boy was probably driving horse
and wagon, which would account for
the hay and grease. Another man who
was described as fellow with tired
colt" got hay, lodging and breakfast
for a cents r.
Every few days there came along.
according to this ancient register, a
connecticut man." he invariably
spent just 6 cents for food, and that
was for pie. On two occasions there
is an additional charge for ''greasing
wagon, 6 cents" There were no the
atrical companies touring this turn
pike road half century ago. but
phrenologist appears and vanishes, it
being recorded that for "hay, 6 quarts
Of oats. lodging and breakfast" he
j gave up So cents. Once, In awhile a
real spendthrtft would come along.
like the gent with three ladies and
two children" They had six dinners.
For these, the hay for the. horses, the
meals for the dog" and the ''segar'
for the man $1.28 was charged. There
was a wedding breakfast at this
quaint tavern too. It Is set down as
wedding, Radclif's sister. 6 dinners.
| Il quarts of oats, $780," - 49,
People went west" by wagon In
those days from the thickly settled
east to seek their fortunes. Some did
not find what they expected and came
back again. One such group, an 'em-
/ igrant family returning east-seven Of
them"-spent 81 at the inn. Three
cents worth Of candy Is a frequent
entry. Probably the candy peddler
from Albany paid for his food and
lodging In sweets. There are but two
entries Of anything stronger than LEM
onade, and those are for beer-four
quarts for 9 cents. Oysters were
cheap, too, for six plates Of them In
creased the contents Of the tavern
keepers money box By just Is cents.
Among the journeyers along this
turnpike road whose passage Is record
ed in this age yellowed volume is "Old
Particular" Doubtless he was some
cranky old codger who kicked about
everything and whose goings the inn
keeper sped as much as possible. Then
there was the "Whistling Man." the
"Stir Arm Man." the "Dispeptic Man"
he had four quarts Of teal and the
Hen Man." who ate a piece Of pie
and traded ROSTERS with the hotel
keeper. Other travellers along the
highway are thus described: "Aboli-
ton Man." MEAN Fellow Scent
With Noble Horse" Lady With Cry
ing Baby Hank Days Likeness"
and "Cravat Peddler'' CfooD.
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