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Women were publicly excluded from the robust claims of egalitarianism and republicanism espoused in northeastern Ohio rural taverns. Except as barmaids, domestic assistants, or in rare cases, as the sole proprietor of the institution, women remained outside the social sphere of the public drinking house. That is not to say, however, that they served no purpose in the tavern. Tavern mistresses cared for itinerant travelers and local clients as she would her own family by feeding them, providing a soft bed in which to sleep, and handing out drinking to those wishing to imbibe. Several women even rose to modest local prominence as tavern-keepers, challenging the stereotypical dependent female archetype. Paulina Kellogg became the official tavern keeper of Kellogg’s following her husband’s death in 1830. Instead of leasing the property, as had Minerva Merwin after her husband died one year earlier, the Widow Kellogg “continued to keep the tavern, managed the business and settle[d] the estate.”37 Women like Kellogg were in the vast minority. Rather than be included into this dominantly male sphere, women fought it. They were, however, “fighting an uphill battle against the very public institution that had made both the Revolution and the ascent of republican ideas possible in the first place.”38
Women were among the most vehement opponents of the tavern, and especially of the drinking occurring therein. This poisonous beverage, in their opinions, eroded the moral character of the men in society. Despite their potential impact as tavern mistresses or barmaids,39 women are not mentioned in any tavern account books or by any observers except as overnight guests. If they did engage in the heated debates or unique social climate of the tavern, their voices are silent and little, if any, evidence exists that they participated as more than mere bystanders in the tavern democracy of the early nineteenth century.
Certainly there is substantial evidence through which to vilify the tavern as nothing more than a house of ill-repute and as a social blemish on republican progress. There are scholarly interpretations taking this perspective. These historians side with the temperance advocates of the early nineteenth century and discredit taverns as anti-republican centers slowing the transformation of America from a loose collection of colonies to a world power.40 There is, however, greater evidence supporting the claims that taverns symbolized important republican values despite their potentially socially disruptive qualities.
The earlier studies of Conroy, Thompson, Brennan, and others, substantiate the central claim of this essay; that taverns were exceedingly important community centers where the public at-large wielded tremendous political and social power. Village leaders dictated tavern location and operation. They licensed reputable keepers, often community leaders, and punished men selling liquor without their permission.41 That is not to say, however, that taverns were manipulated by elites as a form of social control. In fact, elites often feared taverns as hotbeds of insurrection.
The American Revolution was, in a large part, carried out from within its walls and the government understood its potential power.42
Although the keepers were generally community leaders, records indicate that they were almost always elected or appointed following tenure as a tavern keeper. A multitude of men ran for political office and used their positions as information connoisseurs to vault themselves to high community standing. Philo Scovill, for instance, ran the Scovill Tavern, which “sustained an enviable reputation for clean beds and sumptuous fare.”43 In 1826, Scovill lost an election for sheriff but rebounded by gaining election the following year as County Commissioner. Less than a decade later, Scovill ran on the Whig ticket and won a position as the state representative for the area. Similarly, Nathaniel Doan immigrated to the Reserve, opened a tavern, and soon gained renown as a postmaster, Township Clerk, Militia Lieutenant and Captain, and justice of the peace.44 Such men vaulted to public office through their positions as tavern keepers. Thus taverns were not the domain of the elite, but rather a vehicle used by Western Reserve settlers to further their political careers or to simply debate the merits of such matters.
As the 1830s came to a close, rapid changes swept Ohio’s Western Reserve. The first tracks of rail were laid in that decade, revolutionizing the newspaper industry. With such rapid news travel, taverns lost some of their importance as vital information centers. Rather than congregate at the local bar to hear the latest news from England or the eastern states, or perhaps for a bit of local gossip from the tavern keeper, interested residents could read the Herald or the Herald-Gazette, or a number of similar publications.
