Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Catamount Tavern Memorandum Sheet |
Object Name |
Memorandum |
Creator |
Fay, Stephen (1715-1781) |
Scope & Content |
Rough memorandum sheet with notes to be transferred to his ledger, by Stephen Fay, landlord of the famous Catamount Tavern. Note accounts of Ethan Allen, Moses Robinson, Joseph Fay, John Burnham, Nathaniel Holmes, and other early white settlers. Next to each name are numbers and marks, telling amount owed and, in some cases, what they bought (mostly supper and alcohol). Names are listed in several groups scattered over the paper on both sides in different orientations. |
Information |
The story goes that a stuffed catamount was placed atop the signpost of Fay's Tavern when the Green Mountain Boys hoisted New York sympathizer Dr. Samuel Adams up the post tied to an armchair. The animal was placed facing New York, its defiant grin declaring Vermont's ability to defend itself. Ambiguous boundaries of the original colonies meant that both New Hampshire and New York claimed the land that is now Vermont. Ethan Allen and his band of Green Mountain Boys were dedicated to defending the land of New Hampshire grantees and were not above using public humiliation and vigilante justice. Stephen Fay had just built his tavern in the center of Bennington when Ethan Allen bought the house across the road in 1769. Allen planned his daring raid of Fort Ticonderoga at the Catamount Tavern in 1775. The Council of Safety met there in 1777 before the Battle of Bennington. Vermont's new General Assembly met at the tavern in March of 1778. A stuffed wildcat could not have lasted long exposed to the elements, but the story of the fierce catamount grinning defiantly became legend and the name stuck to the building long after it ceased operation as a tavern in 1789. A snarling bronze cat on a granite block now marks the site of the Green Mountain Boys' famous meeting place on Monument Avenue. This note lists supper for Ethan Allen and four companions. Taverns offered both lodging for travelers and a place for locals to socialize, conduct business and talk politics. Alcohol accompanied all these activities and rum, wine and toddy (a punch-like drink) are common items listed in Stephen Fay's tavern ledger. Note how many bottles Allen's party consumed with their supper. Notes were later transferred to Fay's formal ledger where he kept running accounts of purchases and payments. |
Related People |
Fay, Stephen (1715-1781) Allen, Ethan Robinson, Moses (1741-1813) Fay, Joseph Burnham, John Holme, Nathaniel |
Search Terms |
Catamount Tavern (Bennington, Vt.) |
Credit line |
Gift of Rev. & Mrs. Joseph Haswell Robinson |
Catalog Number |
A2205 |