Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce

Location

4696 Union Valley Road, DeRuyter, NY

Lat/Long

42.633794, -75.884124

Grant Recipient

Taylor Historical Society

The hamlet of Union Valley, in the Town of DeRuyter, is located at the intersection of two main roads. This intersection was a once bustling community center, and one of Union Valley’s prominent businesses located here was the tavern of Phylander Kingsbury.

The tavern opened its doors around 1830, prior to Kingsbury’s arrival to Union Valley. Kingsbury assumed ownership in 1844. According to the 1850 US Census, Kingsbury was listed as hotel keeper, another service often provided by 19^th century taverns. He continued to run the tavern until 1869. David C. Crankshaw notes in his 1979 book, Taylor, NY: A History, that the tavern building had a dance floor on the second floor along with a raised platform built for musicians. The raised platform is rumored to still be intact.

In addition to keeping his tavern, Kingsbury was appointed Union Valley Postmaster on June 20, 1857 by President Buchanan and remained so until 1876. (Record of Appointment of Postmasters, National Archives). If two professions weren’t enough, he was also a blacksmith and continued the trade until at least 1880, per census records.

Phylander Kingsbury passed away at age 73 in 1888. As of 2019, the former tavern was still standing and served as a private residence.