The Berry Tavern

 In June of 1827, Fortunatus Berry and his family moved from Springfield, Illinois to Galena, and then shortly afterward to a small settlement then known as Gratiot’s Grove (then in Illinois but today in Wisconsin).  During this time, the region was experiencing a “lead rush”, and miners flocked to the area.  Berry built a log roadhouse in 1829, and when the Galena-to-Chicago stage line extended its service to Gratiot’s Grove in 1840, he constructed a larger tavern.  This tavern boasted seven guest rooms, bar and dining rooms, dance hall, and livery stable. The Berry Tavern would remain a focal point for many years, serving as not only a tavern but at times a school, a doctor’s office, a post office, a polling place, and a church.  Locals met here to plan their defensive strategies during the Black Hawk War. The tavern eventually changed hands, and by 1883 the structure was converted into a farmhouse.  It remained a farmhouse for over 130 years.

The tavern is infamous for being the site of several historic occurrences.  In 1842, a murder took place here, the result of jealousy combined with alcohol.  In July of 1854, cholera claimed the lives of nine family members and guests at the tavern as well as eight others who had very recently stayed there, including four stage drivers.  Not even the local casket maker survived; with his death, the bodies were taken to the root cellar and stacked until they could be prepared for a proper burial, which was done on-site.

Through the years, all of the associated barns and outbuildings have been demolished.  A historic homestead directly across the street was completely leveled just a few years ago.  The one factor that probably led to the preservation of the old tavern is a stone marker placed at the site in 1914 by the Daughters of the American Revolution of Shullsburg, which states, “The stone marks the old Chicago stageroad, and the tavern built by Fortunatus Berry in 1829”.  

In 2013, three impassioned individuals acquired the property and set up a non-profit called Friends of Berry Tavern.  Their goal is to restore the old tavern and the root cellar back to its original condition and promote the site as a public space.  One of those individuals is Cory Ritterbusch, an acquaintance of mine for some years.  Cory plans yearly events at the old tavern that include personal tours, folk music, food, drinks, and old-fashioned outdoor games.  This year, I finally managed to attend the festivities with Aimee and Lumen and it was fantastic.

Folk band playing at the old tavern.

This is where the kitchen led to the bar area.

A bedroom upstairs.

Original hand-hewn oak beams in the basement - with the bark still attached!

The infamous root cellar (with new roof).

Deep in the rear lower level of the root cellar.  

A wayward gravestone in the tavern basement.

                                                       

The gravesite of Elizabeth the wife and Elizabeth the daughter, victims of the cholera outbreak of 1854.

On the road, we helped this painted turtle off of the road.

We stopped at a beautiful state park on the way home and I was pleased to find several pickerel frogs along a cold, clean, fast-flowing stream.