Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce, Site

Location

3307 US-20, Cazenovia, NY 13035, USA

Lat/Long

42.917276402716, -75.776133032492

Grant Recipient

Town of Nelson

Located in Nelson, New York at the crossroads of Route 20—or the old Cherry Valley Turnpike—and Nelson Road, sits the Old Drovers Tavern, a structure which traces its history back over 200 years back.

Built by 1817, though sources indicate that the structure may have been constructed as early as 1804, the building served as an early hotel and tavern along the Great Western Turnpike, which was more commonly known as the Cherry Valley Turnpike.

Throughout the 19^th-century ownership of the property changed hands multiple times, though in each property sale the “tavern stand” on site was mentioned, referring to the structure and its intended purpose. Several maps published during this time confirm the structures continued use as a tavern and hotel.

The tavern and hotel was known by several names throughout its history. The most remembered, however, is captured in an article featured in the Syracuse Post Standard in the June, 1948 edition, titled, “Old Nelson Tavern, Now Antique Shop, Serves as Picturesque Reminder of Historical Past”

Remembered too is the 6-foot long and 3-foot wide gilded sign swaying in the breeze in front of the tavern in Nelson, which read: “The Sickle and Sheaf Drovers’ Tavern.” Most of the old taverns have disappeared.

The article continued to describe the history of the structure, and also included an interview with Bryan James, who inherited the property, which had been with his family since 1874, in 1934 following the passing of his mother. During the interview, James recounts some of the stories that were inherited as well, which read like something from a dime western:

The antique dealer recalls with a smile stories about early barroom brawls in the tavern, when men with time hanging heavily on their hands like to test their fisticuff prowess on friend and stranger alike. Entertainment for the more refined was afforded in the ballroom that once occupied a large portion of the second floor. Built so the floor would “give,” dancers tested their ability by making the floor “jump.” Local fiddlers furnished the music. This ballroom, long since partitioned into bedrooms, was also used as a meeting place for Rachebit’s lodge, an early fraternal order. James also likes to recall that sometimes the young bloods, primed with whisky, and mounted on a good horse would ride their animals right into the barroom right for the deviltry of it.

While owned by the James family, the former tavern was used as an antique shop among several other business ventures. Following Bryan’s death in 1972, the building continued to be used as an antique shop until it was purchased by the Nelson Preservation Associates Incorporated, with a goal of preserving and rehabilitating the structure, and reprogramming the use of the property to support the surrounding the community as described in their Preservation Plan for the structure.

Learn more about the future of this historic former tavern and hotel, as well as the ongoing preservation work on the Old Drovers Tavern website.

Links

• Old Drovers Tavern