Stage-coach and Tavern Days

In Short

Alice Morse Earle presents an detailed social history of early American travel and public hospitality, tracing how crude colonial ordinaries evolved into vibrant staging taverns and turnpike networks. Through historical records, tavern bills, and vivid period accounts, she documents the everyday logistics of early travel—from the brewing of hard flip and the painting of inn signs to the hazards of rogue highwaymen and runaway coaches. The work endures as an essential window into the material culture and domestic rhythms that shaped early American community life.

The Story

Earle traces the development of American transportation and public hospitality from the earliest seventeenth-century colonial settlements through the nineteenth-century heyday of stage-coach travel. The account opens in the strict Puritan era, where local governments strictly regulated the "ordinary." Early colonial laws mandated these houses of public entertainment for the convenience of travelers and townspeople alike, placing them under the watchful eye of local magistrates. Far from being mere drinking dens, the first ordinaries served as essential civic hubs, often situated directly adjacent to the meeting-house. Over time, as colonial towns expanded, these humble ordinaries transformed into sprawling taverns, coffee-houses, and city hotels that pulsed with political, commercial, and social activity.

As the narrative progresses, Earle details the rich inner life of the tavern. She examines the landlord's respected position in town affairs, the hearty fare served at shared tables, and the wide array of traditional beverages—ranging from hard ciders and small beer to elaborate punches and flip heated with red-hot loggerheads. Taverns emerged as the nerve centers of American liberty; under their painted sign-boards and nearby Liberty Trees, groups like the Sons of Liberty gathered to debate British policies, organize local militias, and host patriotic celebrations. Innkeepers hosted everything from Freemason lodge meetings and public lotteries to musical concerts and traveling exhibitions.

The focus then shifts from the inn to the open road. Earle outlines the physical evolution of American highways, beginning with native foot-paths and rough cart-tracks that eventually grew into macadamized turnpikes like the famous National Road. She charts the development of land transportation, moving from simple packhorses and heavy Conestoga wagons to early shackling stage-wagons and, ultimately, the refined Concord coach. Journeying by stage-coach brought distinct shared experiences: the companionship of the road, the legendary authority and skill of American stage-drivers, and the inevitable discomforts of deep mud, broken thorough-braces, and sudden overturns. Along these isolated turnpikes, travelers also faced the threats of notorious highwaymen and the haunting folklore of tavern ghosts. Earle concludes her historical panorama by capturing the twilight of the staging era, showing how the rapid rise of the steam railroad quietly replaced the romantic, jolting world of the stage-coach and the old roadside inn.

How It Unfolds

The rise of the Puritan ordinary Colonial courts establish strict rules for public houses to accommodate travelers and prevent local idleness. Magistrates oversee these early ordinaries, which quickly become central gathering spots alongside the local meeting-house.

Life inside the taproom Taverns expand their offerings to feature roaring log fires, colorful sign-boards, and an endless array of local drinks like flip, punch, and hard cider. The taproom serves as a lively public square where news is traded, goods are auctioned, and travelers find hearty meals.

Cradle of the Revolution Patriots assemble in urban coffee-houses and village taverns to protest Crown policies. Under the branches of designated Liberty Trees standing in tavern yards, the Sons of Liberty hold meetings and rally public support for independence.

Expanding the highways Rough wilderness trails yield to broad, macadamized turnpikes funded by states, private corporations, and the federal government. Massive Conestoga wagons and regular mail stages begin traversing routes like the famous National Road.

The age of the stage-coach Stage lines connect major cities, relying on skilled, bearskin-capped drivers and stout Concord coaches suspended on thick leather thorough-braces. Passengers endure grueling early-morning departures, deep ruts, and cold weather alongside the camaraderie of the open road.

Dangers and departures Travelers face the hazards of rogue highwaymen, jail-breaking thieves, and treacherous weather before steam railroads arrive. The fast new rail lines ultimately pull traffic away from the turnpikes, leaving the old staging taverns to fade into quiet memory.

The People

• Nathaniel Saltonstall: A Haverhill magistrate and militia officer who opposes the Salem witchcraft trials and writes sharp protests to the courts against the proliferation of unlicensed, disruptive ale-houses.
• William Bradford: A Philadelphia publisher and grandson of the colony's first printer who opens the historic London Coffee-House, creating a bustling center for merchants, military men, and public auctions.
• Levi Pease: A Revolutionary War transportation agent and former Shrewsbury blacksmith who co-founds the first regular stage-coach line between Boston and Hartford, eventually owning the Boston Inn.
• Reuben Sykes: A brave young stage-driver who defies public skepticism to partner with Levi Pease, driving the matching stage-wagon from Hartford to Boston to establish the line.
• Benjamin Franklin: Postmaster-General who travels the main roads in a custom chaise equipped with an early mechanical odometer, dropping milestones every mile along the King's Highway to standardise postal routes.
• Tom Bell: A notorious eighteenth-century rogue and imposter who eludes colonial sheriffs across the Middle colonies, walking the streets in disguise and stealing horses with unmatched impudence.
• Moses Doane: The formidable leader of a band of Loyalist outlaws, famous for his athletic strength, who raids rural homesteads until he is captured and killed in a woodland cabin struggle.

In Its Own Voice

"The daylight had gone like an empty dream. Soft may they slumber, and trouble no more for their eager journey, its jolt and roar, in the old coach over the mountain."

Earle highlights this poetic verse to evoke the lost atmosphere of early travelers ending a long day's journey at the tavern door.

"I allways thought it great prudence and Christianity in our former leaders and rulers, by their laws to state the number of publique houses in towns."

Nathaniel Saltonstall expresses his dismay to the Salem Court in 1696 over the rapid spread of disorderly drink-shops.

"The coachman showed no doubtful symptoms of drunkenness, which good-hearted passengers never fail to improve at every stopping place by urging upon him another glass of toddy."

Josiah Quincy recalls the nerve-wracking reality of traveling on early, crude stage lines out of Boston.

What It's Really About

Beneath its detailed descriptions of tavern sign-boards and stage-coach mechanics, the book explores how infrastructure creates community. Earle demonstrates that early American identity was forged not in isolated isolation, but in shared public spaces. The tavern taproom served as a democratic mixing ground where citizens of every background gathered to read newspapers, vote, trade, and debate political independence. Similarly, the opening of turnpikes and stage routes transformed isolated settlements into a unified nation. By documenting the physical details of early transit—from shared stage-wagon benches to turnpike toll-gates—the work shows how the slow, laborious movement of people and news bound the early American republic together.

Why Read It Today

Alice Morse Earle brings an exceptional eye for tangible historical detail to a bygone era of American life. Readers who enjoy social history, historical material culture, or early Americana will appreciate her vivid descriptions of daily routines, early transportation quirks, and local customs. Her prose is direct, engaging, and thoroughly grounded in period documents, original tavern bills, and personal diaries.

The book does present occasional reading challenges. Modern audiences may find its dense inventories of local innkeepers, regional turnpike acts, and forgotten drink recipes somewhat exhaustive. Additionally, the narrative reflects nineteenth-century perspectives when touching upon historical social class and period crime. Yet these elements only reinforce its value as a genuine historical document. What stays with the reader is a lingering sense of the open road: the smell of beechen logs in a drafty taproom, the jolt of leather thorough-braces over rocky mountain passes, and the colorful, bustling network of human connection that built early America.