This was the first tavern, built for that purpose, in the place called "The Rapids" for the rush of water of the Chadakoin River, or Chautauqua Outlet. James Prendergast gets credit for founding the town and he was the one who encouraged Jacob Fenton to come, build a tavern and make pottery. The next year, "The Rapids" was named Jamestown. There was much debate over the name, but all agreed that Pren-der-gast had too many syllables to be included in the name, even though it had been known before as Prendergast's Mill.
Jacob Fenton and his family had come, most recently, from Mayville, on the opposite side of Chautauqua Lake. He would later move to Fluvanna which had been called "The Point" before it was called Fluvanna. The name came for the post office, established in 1827, named after Jacob's daughter Anna, and his brother Nathaniel's daughter, Fluvia.
Jacob Fenton was born in Connecticut, and enlisted inn the Continental Army when he was only 15 years old and served for the duration of the war. He married Lois Hurd in 1790. They moved to Burlington, Otsego County before coming to Chautauqua County.
Jacob Fenton was born in Connecticut, and enlisted inn the Continental Army when he was only 15 years old and served for the duration of the war. He married Lois Hurd in 1790. They moved to Burlington, Otsego County before coming to Chautauqua County.
The taverns of the era served food as well as drink, provided lodging and served as meeting places. Gilbert Hazeltine Early History of Ellicot, describes Jacob Fenton's place.It had two stories on a steep hill. There were two large rooms on the first floor. There were three large rooms and three bedrooms on the second floor, with an attic divided into two rooms. There was a cellar dug into the hill where food and drink were stored.
He went on to wax poetic on the importance of hotels.
Hazeltine went on to say that Fenton's tavern was not only the drinking center of the town, but also the business center.
This is where it was, on a contemporary map, brought to you by the City of Jamestown.
At first, I thought the building itself was still there, and went crazy trying to find it on Google Earth. I found the plaque on a building much larger than the one described. Then I realized that the marker is for the site of the tavern, not the tavern itself. In 1900, the 6 story Fenton Building was constructed on the site, according to Emporis. For a while, the restaurant inside was called Fenton's Grill, but now it's a pizza place.
I've been looking for an historical picture, but the closest I've come is this artist's impression.
from the book--Anderson, Arthur Wellington.. The conquest of
Chautauqua. : Jamestown and vicinity in the pioneer and later periods as told
by pioneer newspapers and persons. Jamestown, N.Y.: unknown, 1932.
Here's a wonderful description that goes with the picture--
"Romance, adventure, and quaint custom mingle in the pictures that we conjure of Jamestown’s pioneer taverns. There were five that might justly claim that title,, all having been built prior to 1820. The first was the Fenton which occupied a site midway between First and Second Streets on the east side of Main Street, now covered by the stores of Field & Wright and A. E. Anderson. This tavern faced south, towards the keelboat landing, and stood back about twenty feet from Main Street. It was two stories high on the south, but only one story above ground on the north owing to the steepness of the hill. It was built by Jacob Fenton, a soldier of the Revolution, in 1814. He was a potter by trade, and erected a pottery extending from the east end of his tavern to the way which now bears the name ”Potter’s Alley.” Here he entertained a colorful variety of guests—lumbermen, keel boatmen sojourning here for a night or a day to load or unload their long, narrow, shallow-draft boats; travellers of different rank and calling. These and the local inhabitants found warmth in winter before the roaring fire of his wide hearth, and bounty at the table spread by his generous hand. They called him “Honest Jacob”, because of his just and kindly spirit.
"Shall we look for a moment at the circle gathered around that table in 1815, when Fenton’s was the only tavern in the village? Here at the head sits the good warm-hearted landlord, flanked o the right by Dr. Elial T. Foote, the young man who came in the spring—the first physician to settle in the village. A stranger sits at his left, a traveler stopped to spend the night. The son sits at the table’s farther end, and ranged long each side in rough attire are boatmen—tanned red, lumbermen, and sawyers from the mill. The fare consists of roast venison, potatoes, and cornbread brought steaming from the oven. A pudding or a pie completes the fare. The supper over, the company disposes at ease, and conversation flows. The landlord, the doctor and the traveler sit apart. A giant boatman regales the remainder of the company with tales of prowess and danger, of brushes with Indians on the “Father of Waters”; of fabulous shots; and of hazards by water and land. The lumberman tells of the panther that trailed him at Moon Brook, and screamed when he found refuge in the home of a settler; how he flew for his life from the charge of an angry bear. Candles glimmer on the mantel, and one by one the guests retire.
"The Fentons left this tavern before 18200, and establishing a larger pottery at Fluvanna, moved to that place. But the tavern continued to serve under the management of Thomas Disher who had, since its beginning in 1813, been manager of the Prendergast store. He operated the tavern for several years and was then succeeded by Richard Hiller, who had succeeded him in the management of the store.
"Dr. Foote lived at this tavern for nearly three years; and Samuel A. Brown—Jamestown’s first attorney—was a fellow boarder for nearly two years."
"Shall we look for a moment at the circle gathered around that table in 1815, when Fenton’s was the only tavern in the village? Here at the head sits the good warm-hearted landlord, flanked o the right by Dr. Elial T. Foote, the young man who came in the spring—the first physician to settle in the village. A stranger sits at his left, a traveler stopped to spend the night. The son sits at the table’s farther end, and ranged long each side in rough attire are boatmen—tanned red, lumbermen, and sawyers from the mill. The fare consists of roast venison, potatoes, and cornbread brought steaming from the oven. A pudding or a pie completes the fare. The supper over, the company disposes at ease, and conversation flows. The landlord, the doctor and the traveler sit apart. A giant boatman regales the remainder of the company with tales of prowess and danger, of brushes with Indians on the “Father of Waters”; of fabulous shots; and of hazards by water and land. The lumberman tells of the panther that trailed him at Moon Brook, and screamed when he found refuge in the home of a settler; how he flew for his life from the charge of an angry bear. Candles glimmer on the mantel, and one by one the guests retire.
"The Fentons left this tavern before 18200, and establishing a larger pottery at Fluvanna, moved to that place. But the tavern continued to serve under the management of Thomas Disher who had, since its beginning in 1813, been manager of the Prendergast store. He operated the tavern for several years and was then succeeded by Richard Hiller, who had succeeded him in the management of the store.
"Dr. Foote lived at this tavern for nearly three years; and Samuel A. Brown—Jamestown’s first attorney—was a fellow boarder for nearly two years."
I'm even more impressed that the street in back is still called Potter's Alley. Jacob ran his pottery at the back of the tavern. These days we have containers in every kind of material, including many that are disposable, so we don't appreciate how important pottery was in earlier times. Jacob Fenton made the pottery people needed for every day life-- jugs, crocks, milk pans, cups and saucers. He sold his ware from his wagon, taking bartering for other goods when cash was not available. He is mentioned in Potters and Potteries of New York State 1650-1900 by William C. Ketchum Jr. but the library doesn't have a copy. We know what crocks and cups are, but I had to look up milk pans. They were used in the days before refrigeration. Milk in its liquid form spoils quickly, but butter and cheese keep longer. These broad shallow pans made it easy to skim the milk to make butter and cheese. Cheese was a staple of diet. If there was too much skim milk for human consumption, it was fed to livestock. Here's a link-- https://thisdayinpotteryhistory.wordpress.com/tag/milk-pans/
Here is an example of a red ware milk pan, the sort of thing that Jacob Fenton made.
There are a few of his pieces at the Fenton History Center which was named after his distant cousin and New York governor, Rueben Eaton Fenton
There's a wonderful panoramic photograph of potters'alley here.
He is remembered as a patriot of the Revolution, He joined the Continental Army when he was an impetuous 15year old, and served for the duration. Some of his descendants have applied for membership in the Sons of the Revolution.
There are many Revolutionary Veterans in the cemeteries of Western and Central New York. Western settlement was one of the freedoms for which the war was fought.
