The Bridgman family were some of Amherst, Massachusett’s original settlers. Jonathan Bridgman was Harold Merrick’s great-grandfather. A lot is known about Jonathan, mainly thanks to a book written in 1905 by Alice Walker called Historic Homes of Amherst. Most of what follows is from that book unless otherwise noted! How much of it is true? Hard to say, but if you read between the lines, the details provided bring these ancestors lives to life in many ways. This story is about the tavern that the family ran in South Amherst during the first half of the 19th century.
The Old Bay Road runs through Hampshire County south of Amherst, roughly from Hadley to Belchertown. The Bay Road was part of the direct stage coach route that ran from Albany, NY to Boston, MA (Springfield Republican). Travel was by foot, by horseback, by stage coach, or by horse and carriage, and taverns offered a necessary and safe (usually) place to stop for a meal, entertainment and a place to sleep. In fact:
“Taverns were not only an integral part of colonial life in America, but were also a necessity. The modes of travel and transportation of the day mandated the location of a tavern every few miles on the main thoroughfares, where tired and hungry travelers could find food and drink and a bed or floor upon which to sleep. Most colonial taverns were the only available public meeting place in early American towns and countrysides.” (Dobbins Inn)
Jonathan Bridgman bought his tavern and land from Marson Eaton. It stood on the Bay Road “on the sloping east end of South mountain in South Amherst where the Bay road is flanked by giant maples.” (Springfield Republican) The original building was a wooden frame structure, expanded later with a brick addition. In fact, Jonathan built a very successful brickyard on a creek adjacent to the house, which had a clay bank perfect for making bricks. He made the bricks he used to build the tavern addition, and his brickyard eventually sold bricks from Amherst to Belchertown. He was also a farmer and helped to found a church. But this entry’s just about the tavern! More on the Bridgman’s later.
What year was the tavern established? WWalker’s book said Jonathan brought his first wife, Achshah Granger, to the Bay Road property in 1806. After Achshah died, Jonathan married his second wife, Jerusha Smith, in 1809. Jerusha and Jonathan lived there at least until 1851. Walker describes a sign on the door of the Bridgman Tavern that swung between two red and white posts with blue and gilt lettering. It hung above the watering trough and said: “Jona. Bridgman’s Tavern – 1822.” Maybe that’s the year the tavern opened. Maybe that’s the year the new brick addition was completed. The tavern was opened at least by 1822, but possibly earlier.
Walker romanticized the lure of the taverns, describing the weary traveler who came to the Bridgman Tavern and sat by the “blazing bar-room fire…smoked his pipe, warmed himself with his mug of toddy (whiskey and hot water mixed with maybe some sugar and spices) until summoned to the evening meal.” (Walker) The experience also included a feather bed, a home-spun counterpane and patchwork quilt, and Indian pudding (corn pudding made by stirring cornmeal into boiling milk or water) and milk for breakfast.
Jerusha Bridgman’s cooking attracted many guests and the tavern was known far and wide for its “superb table and genial hospitality as well as the unusual personality of its proprietor, for Jonathan Bridgman was a man of importance in the community.” (Springfield Republican) Bridgman was also a very religious man and so the tavern had no ballroom, and no card games (Walker). In addition to Jerusha’s cooking and Jonathan’s sparkling personality, there were the Bridgman’s 8 children (six boys and two girls). The entire family was musical and, according to Walker, frequently sang and played together to entertain travelers.
The tavern sounds like it was more elegant than rustic. The rooms were furnished with yellow wood chairs (made by the Bridgman’s neighbor, Hosea Goodale), the drinking glasses each held a quart, and the bedspreads were homemade with a red and green design. There was a tall clock in the kitchen, a cherry-wood table (inherited from Jerusha’s grandmother), and guests ate off of Jerusha’s wedding china (Walker).
During the early 1800’s, the Bay Road was busy. Traffic along the road included the Northhampton Mail Coach (2 am), travelers on food and horseback, teamsters driving sheep, cattle and even turkeys to market, and, according to Walker, even occasional menageries or traveling circuses with animals like bears, elephants and camels.
“One can readily imagine the never-ending procession of weary travelers on horseback, in four-horse coaches, or one-horse chaise…passing this tavern on the side of a steep hill covered with cobblestones and dust in summer and snow in winter.” (Springfield Republican).
The Bridgman Tavern was a successful enterprise until about 1851. When Jonathan Bridgman died, the business deteriorated. Youngest son, Guilford, lived there with his family for some period of time, and daughter, Louisa, had returned to live in the former tavern with her niece by 1911. By 1933, the Bridgman Tavern, and 100 acre surrounding farm property, were owned by the Lord family, who cultivated the property’s 2400 apple trees.
There’s a strange story about the tavern burning down in 1876. According to an article in the Springfield Republican, at that time the property was co-owned by Patrick Cavanaugh and his brother-in-law, John Moriarty. The article said that Patrick and his wife, Ellen, were charged with burning the old Bridgman Tavern and some other adjoining buildings on purpose to claim insurance money. Other than that one article, I haven’t yet located any other information about this strange story yet, but it would impact the date of the remaining buildings on the property (Springfield Republican).
Today if you drive down the Bay Road, you can still see the Bridgman Tavern buildings and the surrounding Bridgman farmland, and it looks remarkably like it did in the undated picture of the property from Walker’s book.
Jonathan Bridgman – Merrick Family Tree – #10
Jerusha Billings Smith Bridgman Merrick Family Tree – 11
Sources:
Amherst; Springfield Republican, Wednesday, Dec 13, 1876, Springfield, MA, retrieved 09 May 2020 from genealogybank.com 09
Beers, F. W. (Frederick W.), “Map of South Amherst, 1873,” Digital Amherst, retrieved 10 May 2020.
Bridgman Tavern Widely Known; Springfield Republican; Wednesday, Dec 13, 1876; Springfield, MA; Page: 6; retrieved 09 May, 2020 from genealogybank.com
Castle Toward, Staffordshire Dark blue Transfer-printed Tea Service, John Hall & Sons, 1814-32; https://northeastauctions.com/product/castle-toward-staffordshire-dark-blue-transfer-printed-tea-service-john-hall-sons-1814-32/
Celebrate Her 89th Birthday; Springfield Union; Saturday, Jul 22, 1911; Springfield, MA; Page: 4
Gray, Alonzo & Charles Adams; Map of Amherst, MA; Amherst College, May, 1833; retrieved 08 May 2020 from David Rumsey Maps
Historical Sketches of Western New England; Springfield Union; Sunday, Dec 30, 1962, Springfield, MA; Page: 39; retrieved 09 May 2020 from genealogybank.com
Found this article (and your whole site) very interesting. I am a decendant of James Bridgman, the Northampton branch of Bridgmans . Deliverance was my8x great grandfather, Alfred Fearing jr (III) is my father.