Elkhorn Tavern

Elkhorn Tavern is a two-story wood-frame historic building in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Although the name describes a tavern and former roadside business, the site is best understood today as a preserved historic landmark rather than a contemporary hospitality brand. It stands at the center of the landscape associated with the Battle of Pea Ridge, also called the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, fought on March 7 and 8, 1862, during the American Civil War. The surrounding Pea Ridge National Military Park preserves approximately 5,000 acres of battlefield terrain, including restored portions of the battlefields, the prewar Telegraph Road, and part of the Trail of Tears. The first building was constructed around 1833 by William Ruddick and his son-in-law Samuel Burks. Originally called Ruddick Inn, it became a stopping place along a major overland route in northwestern Arkansas. The tavern also stood beside a route used during the forced removal of Cherokee people known as the Trail of Tears. An early group of 336 Cherokee travelers camped near the inn on December 23, 1837, and more than 11,000 people passed the site by 1839. This association gives the property significance beyond its Civil War history. After Ruddick and his wife Betsey died, Burks became the sole proprietor in 1852. In 1858, he sold the building and 313 acres to Jesse and Polly Cox for $3,600. Jesse Cox gave the establishment the Elkhorn Tavern name, reportedly after a carpenter presented him with elk antlers from an animal killed nearby. Under Cox ownership, the property served several community functions: trading post, inn, eating establishment, post office, voting place, unofficial Butterfield Overland Mail stop, and meeting place for the Benton County Baptist Society. As the Civil War approached, Jesse Cox left for Kansas, while his son and daughter-in-law, Joseph and Lucinda Pratt Cox, helped manage the property. During the Battle of Pea Ridge, the Cox family remained at the tavern and sheltered in its cellar for three days and nights. The upper floors were used as a makeshift military hospital, where wounded soldiers underwent treatment and amputations under extremely difficult conditions. For a short period the building also served as the headquarters of Confederate General Earl Van Dorn. Gunfire struck the structure repeatedly, including a cannonball that passed through the second floor, but the building survived the battle. The original tavern was burned by bushwhackers in January 1863. Its foundation and chimneys remained usable, allowing the Cox family to rebuild on the original site. The replacement structure was completed in 1865 and is the building represented by the present landmark. The property stayed in the Cox family for nearly a century. Frances Cox Scot, born at the tavern in 1865, later inherited it and operated a small Civil War museum there. In 1959, she sold the property for incorporation into the newly established Pea Ridge National Military Park. The National Park Service subsequently renovated the building to reflect its 1862 appearance. Today, Elkhorn Tavern is preserved as a visitor landmark within the park, with seasonal public access and interpretive programming. Costumed volunteers have provided historical lessons about the building, the battle, the surrounding community, and the people who lived or traveled there. The tavern is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its continuing identity rests on its interconnected roles in transportation, migration, local commerce, Civil War history, public memory, and national-park interpretation.

Elkhorn Tavern's history began around 1833, when William Ruddick and his son-in-law Samuel Burks built a two-story inn in what is now Benton County, Arkansas. The building was initially known as Ruddick Inn. It occupied a strategically important position along the prewar Telegraph Road and became part of the landscape through which Cherokee groups were forcibly removed during the Trail of Tears. The Ruddick and Burks families witnessed this movement from the property. On December 23, 1837, a detachment of 336 Cherokee people camped near the inn; by 1839, more than 11,000 Cherokee travelers had passed the location. Following the deaths of William and Betsey Ruddick, Samuel Burks became the property's sole proprietor in 1852. Six years later, he sold the building and 313 acres to Jesse and Polly Cox. Cox renamed the establishment Elkhorn Tavern. Its functions expanded beyond lodging and food service. It operated as a trading post, an eating establishment, a post office, a voting location, an unofficial Butterfield Overland Mail stop, and a meeting place for the Benton County Baptist Society. The name is associated with elk antlers obtained by a carpenter who killed an elk near the tavern and presented the antlers to Jesse Cox. Cox first displayed them on a pole and later placed them on the roof ridge between the chimneys. As tensions preceding the Civil War intensified, Jesse Cox relocated to Kansas and left the property in the care of Joseph and Lucinda Pratt Cox, together with Joseph's mother, Polly. In March 1862, the tavern became a focal point of the Battle of Pea Ridge, one of the important engagements of the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. The Cox family stayed on the premises and took refuge in the cellar from March 7 through March 9. Fighting took place around the building, while the upper floors were converted into a makeshift hospital. Wounded soldiers were treated there, including men who underwent amputations without anesthetic. Confederate General Earl Van Dorn also used the building as a headquarters for a limited period. The structure sustained numerous impacts, including a cannonball that penetrated the second floor, but it did not collapse. After the battle, the Cox family moved temporarily while the property was repaired and the surrounding area was cleared. In January 1863, before their return, bushwhackers burned the original tavern. Because the original foundation and chimneys survived, the family reconstructed the building on the same site. The replacement was completed in 1865, making the present structure a post-battle reconstruction rather than the exact building that stood during the 1862 engagement. The Cox family retained the property for almost a century. Frances Cox Scot, who was born at the tavern in 1865, inherited it after the deaths of her parents, Joseph and Lucinda Cox, in 1903 and 1902 respectively. Scot lived in the building and maintained a small Civil War museum there. In 1959, she sold the property for inclusion in Pea Ridge National Military Park, which had been created to preserve and interpret the battlefield. Scot moved to nearby Garfield and died the following year at age 95. After acquisition, the National Park Service renovated Elkhorn Tavern to approximate its 1862 appearance and incorporated it into the park's historical interpretation. The park protects roughly 5,000 acres surrounding the building, including battlefield areas, the Telegraph Road corridor, and part of the Trail of Tears route. Seasonal visitors may access the tavern and encounter costumed interpreters discussing the building's residents, the Civil War, local life, and the site's broader cultural history. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its historical importance derives from its combined roles as a transportation stop, community institution, witness to Cherokee removal, Civil War hospital and headquarters, private museum, and national-park resource.

• 1959

  Property becomes part of Pea Ridge National Military Park

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Frances Cox Scot sells the property for incorporation into the newly created national military park.

• 1865

  Rebuilt tavern is completed

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  The Cox family completes a replacement building on the original foundation and chimneys.

• 1863

  Original building is burned

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Bushwhackers burn the original tavern in January, leaving its foundation and chimneys sufficiently intact for reconstruction.

• 1862

  Battle of Pea Ridge

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  The tavern becomes a battlefield focal point, temporary hospital, and briefly a Confederate headquarters during the March 7–8 battle.

• 1858

  Cox ownership and renaming

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Jesse and Polly Cox purchase the property, and Jesse Cox gives it the Elkhorn Tavern name.

• 1852

  Burks becomes sole proprietor

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  After the deaths of William and Betsey Ruddick, Samuel Burks assumes sole control of the inn.

• 1839

  Trail of Tears passage reaches more than 11,000 people

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  More than 11,000 Cherokee travelers are reported to have passed the tavern by this year.

• 1837

  Cherokee detachment camps near the inn

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  A group of 336 Cherokee people camps near the property during the forced migration later known as the Trail of Tears.

• 1833

  Ruddick Inn is built

  [1]Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  William Ruddick and Samuel Burks construct the first building at the site, initially known as Ruddick Inn.

A preserved historic tavern and interpretive landmark representing the Battle of Pea Ridge, nineteenth-century travel and commerce in Arkansas, the Trail of Tears corridor, and the continuing public history mission of Pea Ridge National Military Park.

• 1959

  Preservation under national-park administrationStrategy

  Background

  After nearly a century of Cox-family ownership and Frances Cox Scot's operation of a small Civil War museum, the property was acquired for the newly established Pea Ridge National Military Park.

  Action taken

  The tavern was incorporated into a public battlefield-preservation and interpretation program and later renovated to more closely represent its 1862 appearance.

  Aftermath

  Elkhorn Tavern became a protected cultural resource and visitor landmark rather than a privately operated inn.

  Source

1. 1Elkhorn Tavernen.wikipedia.org