The Old Pike: A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes ThereonSearight, Thomas B. (Thomas Brownfield)
History
The Old Pike: A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes Thereon
Searight, Thomas B. (Thomas Brownfield)
Cumberland Road; Pennsylvania -- Biography
Over the hill from Searights is the old Abel Colley stand. The old
tavern here, in the flourishing era of the road, did a large business,
mainly in the line of entertaining wagoners. While all the taverns of
the road were more or less patronized by wagoners, excepting a few which
were exclusively stage houses, they had favorite stopping places, and
the Abel Colley tavern was one of these. The old proprietor and his
family had methods and manners which were agreeable to wagoners, and
they made it a point to stop at this house in great numbers. The bills
were moderate, yet the patronage was so extensive and continued so long
that Abel Colley accumulated a considerable fortune at this old tavern,
and when trade and travel ceased built a fine brick residence on the
roadside opposite, where he retired with his family to private life, and
in a few years thereafter died. Nancy, the wife of the old tavern
keeper, is well remembered as a large, amiable woman, who habitually
wore an expansive cap of the Queen Anne style. She long since passed to
the life beyond. W. Searight Colley, a son of Abel, now occupies and
owns the brick dwelling mentioned, with a fine farm adjacent. Peter
Colley, of the old Hunter tavern before mentioned, was likewise a son of
Abel, and he had a son, Levi, a farmer and freeholder, who died a number
of years ago on the old Covert farm, near Moxley's, now in the occupancy
of one of his sons. The Abel Colley tavern is still standing, a
monument, like many others, of the faded glories of the old pike. This
old house was kept as early as the year 1825 by Darius Grimes, and after
him by Thomas Moxley. In Moxley's time it was called the "Green Tree,"
and the writer remembers the picture of the green tree which appeared on
the sign board that hung and swung for many years in front of this old
tavern. Abel Colley took charge after Moxley left. According to the
recollection of Ebenezer Finley, as appears by his letter in the
Appendix to this volume, the Abel Colley tavern, was kept by Samuel
Wolverton and by Hugh Thompson, and this must have been previous to the
time of Darius Grimes. It was certainly before Moxley's time.
[Illustration: ABEL COLLEY.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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