Let’s travel back to 1835. The United States had only 24 states, Texas was at war with Mexico, the lightbulb hadn’t been invented yet, and Charles Darwin was starting his groundbreaking work on evolution in the Galapagos. Oh, and there was the Great Moon Hoax of 1835. It was a curious time on the cusp of many other major events happening.
Before Michigan became a state (1837), the Sumnerville Tavern, known today as the Old Tavern Inn, opened in the small community of Sumnerville between present-day Niles and Dowagiac back in 1835. Owner Peabody Cook probably didn’t expect his little tavern to be running nearly 200 years later. But, business is still going in the exact spot it started 190 years ago, making it the oldest business in Michigan still operating in the place it started on its original foundations.
⬇️DETROIT’S JAMES SCOTT MANSION, THEN AND NOW⬇️
A Brief History of the Old Tavern Inn
The Old Tavern Inn (OTI)’s history is pretty well-documented thanks to a book inside the tavern detailing its history from 1835 to now. According to this book, the tavern started as a 1-room log structure built on the stagecoach route that once connected Detroit to Chicago. Its prime position made this tavern a popular joint.
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