Eagle Tavern at Its Original Site, Clinton, Michigan, circa 1905
THF110475 / Eagle Tavern at Its Original Site, Clinton, Michigan, circa 1905
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Artifact Overview
Ella Smith's family owned the Clinton, Michigan, Eagle Tavern--which they renamed Smith's Hotel--from 1868 to 1927. The hotel closed in the 1890s. When Ella posed for this photo about 1910, she still lived in the tavern, giving piano lessons and taking in boarders to earn a living. Henry Ford moved the building to Greenfield Village in the late 1920s.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photographic print
Subject Date
circa 1905
Collection Title
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
2004.0.14.13
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 4.25 in
Width: 5.75 in
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Related Artifacts
ArtifactEagle Tavern
This stagecoach tavern was built in 1831 in Clinton, Michigan, 50 miles west of Detroit. Taverns dotted the American countryside during the first half of the 1800s, a period of massive migration, new settlement, and rapid change in a young America. From 1849-1854, farmer Calvin Wood operated this tavern, offering food, drink, and accommodations to travelers who passed through his village.
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Related Content
SetPast Lives of the Eagle Tavern
- 19 Artifacts
This tavern, constructed 1831-2 in Clinton, Michigan, was originally a stagecoach stop on the Detroit-to-Chicago road. In 1927, Henry Ford purchased the run-down building from resident Ella Smith -- the daughter of Walter Smith, who had run the hostelry as Smith's Hotel between 1868 and 1896. Moved to Greenfield Village, the restored and renamed Clinton Inn opened in 1929.