|
Our History
|
 The site on which the Deer Park Tavern is built was previously occupied by the St. Patrick's Inn, which was destroyed by fire. There have been arguments as to whether the St. Patrick's Inn was indeed located on this spot, or across the street, but the consensus seems to favor the site of the present building. From 1747 to 1848 John Tobias, and then John Pritchard ran the inn. It thus acquired the nickname "Pritchard's." In the 1700s the St. Patrick's Inn was a favorite resting place for travelers passing through Newark.
In 1764, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon stayed at the inn with their team of surveyors. A folk account of their stay says that they were a jolly bunch who kept a tame bear for amusement and consumed large portions of peach and apricot brandy. The Mason-Dixon line was the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, which became famous as the line of demarcation between free and slave states. Mason and Dixon were requested to survey a one and a half-mile section of the city border that was to form a corner near the site of the St. Patrick's Inn.
As he (Edgar Allan Poe) was attempting to ascend from a carriage at the Inn (Deer Park), he was reputed to have fallen in the mud and was so upset that he put a curse on the Inn.
|
During the American Revolution, soldiers stayed at the inn and it has even been stated that George Washington spent the night there. Harriet Black Evans related this story: During a British invasion, Robert Warnock, who was a reputed wizard and a man feared by the townspeople, had a fight with Israel Pritchard and put a spell on the cattle that were pastured behind the inn. The next day, Mr. Pritchard found all the cattle and horses lying in a peculiar position. He called Mr. Warnock to the inn and demanded that the spell be removed. When Warnock agreed, the men walked outside to see all the livestock up and grazing as if nothing were wrong.
|
During the American Revolution, soldiers stayed at the Inn (Deer Park) and it has even been stated that George Washington spent a night.
|
On December 23, 1843, Edgar Allan Poe lectured at the Academy and visited the inn. As he was attempting to emerge from his carriage at the inn, he was reputed to have fallen in the mud and was so upset that he put a curse on the building.
 In 1848, James S. Martin bought 243 acres of land for $16,000. On this land were the remains of the burned down St. Patrick's Inn. Martin removed the rubble and built the Deer Park Hotel in 1851. The original four-story structure was red brick and was built using all local materials from Newark. The hotel was designed by the same architect who built Martin's home, Deer Park Farm. Martin named the hotel after his farm, which was named for a grove of deer that often filled the nearby landscape.
Jacob DeHaven was the first proprietor of the Deer Park. He ran the hotel until 1857. In 1855, Hanna Chamberlain received permission to move her women's seminary to the hotel, where it remained for 20 years. In 1858, J. Marshall Harlan took over the hotel and ran it until 1865, when he sold it to Colonel Joshua Clayton. The first railroad line was built through Newark in 1869, and helped to make the hotel popular after John E. Lewis purchased it in 1874.
Next Page >
|
|
