After visiting numerous historic sites in Kentucky, I am now having to search far and wide for sites that I have not yet explored. That hunt led me to the Gaines Tavern History Center in Walton, KY. The city of Walton purchased the tavern in 2006, and since then, it’s been receiving the TLC it needs to continue to stand for years to come. The city opened the tavern to tours in 2009, but the tours are very limited at this time. I reached out to the tavern last fall to see about a tour. We finally made that happen this past week. Paula, the events director, was kind enough to open the home to us for a special tour outside of their typical touring season. Paula was so hospitable and even more knowledgeable about Abner Gaines and the history of the property. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with her. I promised this post would be written and included in my 2nd book that I hope to self-publish by the end of this year. So, let’s get going on the history of Abner Gaines and his tavern.
Abner Gaines
Abner Legrand Gaines’s early years are rather elusive. All I could find was that he was born on February 12, 1766, in Orange County, Virginia. His parents were James Gaines III (c. 1739-1788) and Mildred Bland Pollard (1736 – c. 1796). Both were born in Virginia.
Abner’s later years provided a little more information. He married Susan Elizabeth Matthews on December 8, 1792, in Virginia. The couple was living in Woodford County, KY, by 1800. They are listed on the census for that year. I also learned that two children had been born to the couple before they arrived in Kentucky: James Matthew Gaines (b. December 24, 1793) and John Pollard Gaines (b. September 22, 1795).
By 1804, the couple had moved to Boone County, KY. It was then that Abner listed three enslaved people on the tax records. In 1808, Abner paid landowner taxes and received a tavern bond on October 24 of that same year. He continued to renew his tavern license through December of 1818.
Tracking the Land and Its History
History can sometimes be about as clear as mud, and no matter if you follow the paper trail or not, you can still walk away really confused as to what happened and why. This is absolutely the case with Abner and his piece of land in Boone County, KY.
Let me explain.
The earliest known owners of the Gaines property were Levi and Jane Briggs Todd of Fayette County, KY. (These were Mary Todd Lincoln’s grandparents.) The Todds sold 300 acres to Archibald and Lucy Reid of Boone County on December 1, 1801. The land was then sold again to Caleb Summer and then mortgaged to Thomas Kennedy. The property eventually went to auction in 1808. I believe this occurred because there was disagreement as to who owned the land, or maybe there was a deal made with some stipulations that didn’t take place.
However it all came to be, Abner Gaines purchased 300 acres of land from Kennedy and Reid on December 22, 1813, although Abner had control of the land as early as 1808 when he paid landowner taxes and obtained a tavern license. See what I’m saying?? Clear as mud!
Running a Business or Two
Abner obtained a tavern license in 1808 because a tavern already existed on the property. The tavern was built by Archibald Reid sometime around 1795. When Abner took control, he continued to run the tavern.
Between 1810 and 1815, the Federal-style home we see today was built next door to the tavern by Abner. By 1818, Abner had established the very first stagecoach line that ran from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Lexington, Kentucky. He established his home as a stopping point along the stagecoach line, becoming an inn and stagecoach stop. The tavern was likely moved into the home at this time, as well.
Passengers who left Cincinnati on Wednesday at 8 AM would arrive in Lexington on Thursday at 6 PM, or passengers could leave Lexington at 2 PM on Monday and arrive in Cincinnati at 8 PM on Tuesday. His home was a wonderful break from a 34-hour-long trip! Passengers could stop for a bit, get out of the rough riding stagecoach, get a drink, and even possibly rest for a bit before continuing the rest of the trip. His home was so popular that the area became known as Gaines Cross Roads or Gaines Crossings.
In addition to running a stagecoach line, a stagecoach stop, an inn, and a tavern, Abner was also the Justice of the Peace in 1805 and the Boone County Sheriff from 1815 to 1817. As if that wasn’t enough, the Gaines’ inn was also full of children!
Children, Children, and More Children
As I stated before, Abner and Elizabeth had two children before coming to Kentucky. That number increased to 13 children over the next few years. In addition to James and John, there were William Haney, Richard Matthews, Benjamin Pollard, Augustus Woodford, Archibald Kinkead, Abner LeGrand, Mary Wright, Elizabeth H., Mildred Pollard, Harriet B. (died of pneumonia at 4 years old), and Ann M. (died at 18 months old). Both daughters died in 1822.
Many of the Gaines children went on to make a significant impact on US history, whether for good or bad.
John Pollard Gaines volunteered for the War of 1812, served in the Mexican War from 1846 – 1848, becoming Major of the 1st Regiment of Kentucky’s Volunteer Cavalry of Mountain Men, and was elected to Congress as a Whig from 1847 to 1849. During this time, John owned a farm, known as Maplewood Farm or Plantation, just down the road from his parents. In 1850, John became the governor of Oregon Territory. Before his move to Oregon, John sold his farm to his brother Archibald.
James Matthews Gaines was appointed the first Postmaster of Gaines Crossroads by President James Madison on July 4, 1815.
Augustus Woodford Gaines became a paymaster in the US Army.
Richard Matthews Gaines was appointed the US District Attorney of Mississippi by President Andrew Jackson.
William Haney Gaines made a successful claim for a large portion of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was instrumental in the founding of Gaines Landing, Arkansas.
Mildred Pollard Gaines inherited her father’s property upon his death on October 30, 1839. She kept the property until her marriage to Anthony Davies in 1841. At that time, she sold the property to her brother, Archibald.
The Dark History of Slavery
As I noted in an earlier part of this post, the Gaineses were slave owners. While this is not a topic I enjoy writing about, I feel obligated to do so as an educator-turned-historian. To leave out the story of those who were enslaved would be just as horrific as the story itself. Slavery was in no way pretty, but some stories are easier to tell than this one. This story is by far the most horrific slavery story I’ve ever heard and had to tell. It is with great sadness and sensitivity that I tell you about Margaret Garner.
Margaret “Peggy” Garner
Margaret was born on June 4, 1834, on Maplewood Plantation, owned by John Pollard Gaines, son of Abner. Because Margaret’s mother was enslaved on Maplewood Plantation, Margaret was born into slavery. That’s all we know about her early years. The truth is, if it weren’t for this horrible story I’m about to tell you, we probably wouldn’t even know her name.
In 1850, John Pollard Gaines sold Maplewood to his brother Archibald. Margaret, her husband Robert, and their children were a part of that sale. We have no way of knowing what life on the farm was like for the Garners, but based on the events that transpired in 1856, one can guess that it was far from pleasant.
You see, in January of that year, a pregnant Margaret, her husband Robert, their four children, and Robert’s parents (Simon and Mary) attempted to flee slavery. With the help of Margaret’s cousin, Elijah Kite (who was a free black man) and the Quaker abolitionist, Levi Coffin, the family ran 16-miles from Maplewood Plantation to the frozen Ohio River where they crossed from Covington, KY into Cincinatti, Ohio, and then made it to Kite’s home where they were going to be hide until they could be safely transported further North.
Things did not go as planned, however. Within just a few hours of their arrival, a group of U.S. Marshals, along with Archibald Gaines and James Marshall (owner of Robert and Robert’s parents), surrounded the home and demanded that they surrender.
A Terrible Turn of Events
Unwilling to have her children return to slavery, Margaret took fate into her own hands.
“In a shocking instant of grief and mental torment, the mother quickly attempted to take the lives of her children as well as her own. They would be better off dead than forced to live as slaves, she screamed at her captors. When the marshals found her in a back room, she had killed her two-year-old daughter with a knife. The other children lay on the floor, wounded but alive. The unfathomable tragedy placed squarely in the public eye the atrocities of slavery and its existence as a cruel institution.”
Kentucky Commission of Human Rights
Can you even imagine? This is so horrible, I couldn’t even write it in my own words. The thought that your children were better off dead than to be taken back into slavery…. I can’t wrap my head around how horrific all of it must have been.
Margaret was, of course, taken into custody, along with the other family members.
The Garners’ Fugitive Slave Trial
The horrifying events were recounted in the local newspapers from the Cincinnati Enquirer to the Cincinnati Daily Gazette. Gaines and Marshall were using the Federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 to try to get Margaret and the others returned to Kentucky, while abolitionists were working overtime to find federal loopholes that would keep the Garners in Ohio.
The trial began on January 30, 1856, in Cincinnati. Now, this trial was to decide whether the Garners could be considered free and stay in Ohio or if they had to return to Kentucky. The murder trial would take place after this decision was made by the court.
“John Jolliffe, a prominent anti-slavery attorney in Cincinnati, acted as chief counsel for the Garners, while Colonel Francis T. Chambers of Cincinnati, and two other lawyers from Covington represented the claimants, Archibald Gaines and James Marshall.”
Boone County Public Library
The trial grabbed attention all across the country as it shined a light on the horrors of slavery, not only of the cruel treatment, but also of rape that often took place when masters forced themselves on the enslaved women. An 1856 article syndicated to the New York Times stated that the defendants, “complain of cruel treatment on the part of their master,” and the writer notes Margaret’s appearance to be “mulatto.” The coroner also noted the “whiteness” of the slain child. Needless to say, the Garners became very well known during “one of America’s most widely publicized fugitive slave trials.” (KCHR.KY.GOV)
Finally, on March 12, 1856, a decision was made. Certificates of ownership would be granted to the original owners of the fugitives, and they would be delivered to their former masters. While Gaines and Marshall could take their slaves back to Kentucky, they would have to return for a murder trial.
Archibald sells the Garners down the River
Upon their return to Kentucky, Archibald Gaines sent Margaret and her family down the river to the “deep south” and began moving them from place to place so that when Ohio officials came for them, they would be nowhere to be found. Gaines told the officials that as soon as he could locate them, he would turn them in for trial.
The fact was that Gaines had sold the Garner family to his brother Abner LeGrand Gaines in Arkansas, and from there they were moved to New Orleans, where they were sold to an enslaver in Mississippi.
Archibald was ultimately “publicly denounced” for evading government officials.
The Fate of Margaret Gaines
As if Margaret’s life wasn’t already horrific enough, the story doesn’t end there. When Margaret and her family were sold to Abner LeGrand in Arkansas, they loaded up on a steamboat and traveled downriver. The steamboat ended up in a crash. Margaret and her infant daughter she was carrying in her arms, fell overboard. Margaret survived; her child did not.
Upon arrival in Mississippi, Margaret became very sick. She died of typhoid fever on a Mississippi plantation in 1858.
Margaret’s story did not die with her, thankfully. The tragic events continued to be told by many people. In 1867, Satterwhite Noble completed a painting depicting Margaret’s story. (posted above) In 1987, Toni Morrison wrote the novel Beloved, loosely based on the events of Margaret’s life. That book then became a movie with the same title, starring Oprah Winfrey in 1998. In 2005, an opera titled Margaret Garner was composed by Richard Danielpour. Most recently, in 2016, a biography was written by Nikki M. Taylor titled Driven Toward Madness: The Fugitive Slave Margaret Garner and Tragedy on the Ohio.
Following the Gaines Tavern through the Years
The tragedy of Margaret Garner and her family is tied to Gaines Tavern because Archibald ended up owning the property in the 1840s. He held onto the property until it was sold to Dr. E. Smith Clarkson. (It was also in 1840 that the town of Gaines Crossroads received the new name of Walton. The city was established at that time.)
By 1873, the home was no longer owned by Dr. Clarkson. Instead, the owners were Robert F. and Attila Cleek. They witnessed the construction of two train lines that would pass right by the home. One ran directly in front and the other directly behind. The Cincinnati Southern Railroad began construction in 1868 and had reached Walton by 1877. The full 336 miles was completed by 1880. The other track belonged to the L & N Railroad Company. (Both train lines are still active today, and we heard both on the day of our visit.)
In 1970, the home was owned by John Gault Jr., who lived in the back of the home and ran an antiques store out of the front of the home. In 1990, Stephanie Gjerde purchased the home with plans to renovate it and take it back to its 1800s appearance. Finally, in 2006, the city of Walton purchased the home and the remaining 7.6 acres of land on which it sat. The city has owned the property ever since and opened it to the public as the Gaines Tavern History Center in 2009.
Our Visit and Reflection
Oh my goodness, where do I begin? As my followers already know, I find our places to visit, complete the visit, and then do more research. So, I really had no idea what was in store for us. As I stated in the beginning, we met Paula out at the Gaines home, and she fully covered the history of the home and the family. She didn’t leave anything out, and we walked through every room in the home.
The crazy thing is that the history of Margaret Garner and her family is not the only tragic story connected to this home. I felt like Paula was just dishing out one bad story after another! She started by telling us of Abner and Elizabeth’s two little ones who died very young. Then we were told Margaret’s history – that one gave me chills as we heard of Archibald and his evilness, along with Margaret’s horrific actions. From there, we were told about travelers that had stopped along the way, one committing suicide in a back bedroom and another who purposefully set herself on fire. Then there was the toll gate keeper who hung himself from the trestle near the home. By the time Paula finished with the stories, I felt like I had been through an emotional wringer! Shoo!
Now, my daughter, who loves a good ghost story, found it quite intriguing that a few of these spirits are said to be hanging out in the home today. My page isn’t about ghost stories and myths, so I’ll let those of you who find that interesting do a little research of your own. An episode of “Ghost Hunters” has been filmed there!
What I loved most about the Gaines Tavern was the architecture, which included 10 hand-carved mantels, beautiful original wood flooring, three staircases that showcase intricate woodwork, fanlights, cabinetry, tall ceilings, and hand-hewn trusses joined with wooden pegs…. and yes, you can actually see this in the attic space! (There’s only been one other Kentucky historic home where we’ve been able to see this type of craftsmanship, and that was at the William Whitley Home in Stanford. They don’t allow photos, though, so I have no proof.) The exterior walls are 4 bricks thick, laid in a Flemish bond pattern on the front of the house and a common pattern used on the sides and rear. The front entrance features a three-part elliptical fanlight and sidelights. The front door features the tiniest door knob I’ve ever seen! Truly, this home is a sight to see, and it is a testament to the skills and craftsmanship of our early Kentuckians.
Sometime around 1819, an ell was added to the back of the home, which allowed a sleeping porch to also be added. The outbuildings were built sometime in the 1900s. The property also has two wells, one that includes a rope and a bucket, and the other features a hand pump that was installed later. Neither is in use today.
Because this home functioned not only as a home until 1990, but also as an antiques store, you will not find original family pieces in the home. Instead, the home is filled with pieces that represent life between the 1800s and I’d say the early 1900s. It is not necessarily set up as a home museum, but I believe that is eventually their goal. For example, the 2nd-floor ballroom currently has bedroom pieces set up that include an iron baby crib and a beautiful bureau. The tavern room on the 1st floor includes an incredible Murphy Bed, like nothing I’ve ever seen before, but it definitely isn’t period to an early 1800s inn. Regardless of the setup, there is so much to be learned about this home, this family, and our early years in Kentucky. So, I absolutely love this home!
I know it comes with some awful history that I personally cannot comprehend. But, without this home, those stories would not have been told – not by me anyway. Those stories need to continue to be told. Margaret Garner and all the other unnamed people who were trapped in a time period that was evil and inhumane deserve to have their stories remembered. They didn’t ask to be a part of that treatment. They didn’t volunteer for it. They were kidnapped or born into it.
You can always count on me to tell their stories.
If you get the chance to visit the Gaines Tavern History Center, you absolutely should! The home is open for tours on the 2nd Sunday of the month, so do make sure you plan accordingly. Other than that, I know you won’t be disappointed.
Until next time…