Stacy's Tavern

Stacy's Tavern is a historic wayside stagecoach inn in Glen Ellyn, DuPage County, Illinois. The building was constructed by Moses Stacy in 1846, after Stacy and his family had settled in northern Illinois following the Black Hawk War. Stacy had already accommodated travelers in his home as a boarding-house host, and the new building formalized that role as a roadside inn serving the developing transportation corridor between Chicago and Galena. During its operating period as a tavern, the property served several overlapping groups of travelers. Stagecoach passengers traveling between Chicago and Galena could stop overnight, farmers from the surrounding area used the inn while taking produce to market in Chicago, and settlers moving farther west relied on it as part of the region's emerging overland network. The standard charge was 50 cents for an overnight stay, two meals, and hay for two horses. The inn included an indoor well for washing and a cast-iron stove for warmth. Contemporary legal restrictions limited occupancy to five travelers per bed, illustrating the regulated and utilitarian character of early roadside accommodation. Architecturally, the building is a modified Greek Revival structure. Its boards were milled at the nearby Gary's Mill, while its bricks were handmade. The tavern's importance is closely tied to its survival in its original setting rather than to continued commercial operation. The arrival of the railroad weakened the stagecoach-based travel system and effectively ended the building's role as a wayside inn. Moses Stacy and his wife nevertheless continued to live there after the railroad era began. Moses died in 1870, and his wife died in 1899; both were buried at nearby Forest Hill Cemetery. The property entered a preservation phase in the twentieth century. The Village of Glen Ellyn purchased it in 1968 and worked with the Glen Ellyn Historical Society to restore it as a representative late-1840s tavern. Restoration research used historic photographs, paint-layer analysis, and examination of architectural features to distinguish original elements from later changes. The Historical Society assembled period furnishings and artifacts from locations across the United States, and the Tap Room chairs were made by an Illinois carpenter in the 1840s. Stacy's Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1974. Illinois also recognized it as the only tavern of its period still standing on its original foundation and at its original location. In 1976, Glen Ellyn opened the restored property to the public as a museum, making it part of the village's contribution to the American Bicentennial. Today, Stacy's Tavern is best understood not as an operating hospitality brand but as a municipal and community heritage site interpreting travel, settlement, domestic life, and commercial lodging in antebellum northern Illinois.

Moses Stacy and his family were among the settlers who moved into northern Illinois after the Black Hawk War of 1832. Before constructing the tavern, Stacy reportedly opened his home to travelers as a boarding house. In 1846 he built a larger residence designed to serve simultaneously as a family home and a wayside inn. The building stood along the overland route connecting Chicago and Galena, a route used by stagecoach passengers, farmers traveling to Chicago markets, and settlers continuing west. The inn offered basic but significant services for its time. A 50-cent stay included a bed for the night, two meals, and hay for two horses. Travelers could obtain water from an indoor tavern well and warm themselves beside a cast-iron stove. The building's construction combined a modified Greek Revival design with locally produced materials: lumber from Gary's Mill and handmade brick. Regulations governing lodging limited the number of travelers permitted to sleep in each bed. The expansion of rail transportation reduced the importance of stagecoach routes and brought the tavern's commercial role to an end. Moses Stacy continued to occupy the property with his wife as a private residence. He died in 1870, and she died in 1899. Their burial site is Forest Hill Cemetery in the vicinity of Glen Ellyn. The building's preservation began when the Village of Glen Ellyn acquired the property in 1968. The village and the Glen Ellyn Historical Society undertook a historically informed restoration intended to recreate the appearance and atmosphere of a typical late-1840s tavern. Researchers consulted old photographs, removed and studied layers of paint, and analyzed architectural components. Furnishings and artifacts were gathered from throughout the United States, while the Tap Room chairs were produced by an Illinois carpenter in the 1840s. On October 29, 1974, Stacy's Tavern was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Illinois subsequently recognized its unusual integrity, identifying it as the only tavern from its period in the state still standing on its original foundation and at its original location. In 1976 the Village of Glen Ellyn opened the restored building as a museum in connection with the American Bicentennial. Its present identity is therefore that of a historic property and public interpretive institution rather than an active stagecoach inn or conventional restaurant.

• 1976

  Opening as a museum

  [1]Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Glen Ellyn opened the restored tavern to the public as a museum during the American Bicentennial period.

• 1974

  National Register listing

  [1]Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Stacy's Tavern was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1974.

• 1968

  Village acquisition

  [1]Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  The Village of Glen Ellyn purchased the historic property and began preservation work with the Glen Ellyn Historical Society.

• 1899

  Death of Stacy's wife

  [1]Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Moses Stacy's wife died, marking the end of the family's documented residence era at the property.

• 1870

  Death of Moses Stacy

  [1]Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Moses Stacy died after the property's stagecoach-era commercial role had declined; his wife continued to live at the building.

• 1846

  Wayside inn is constructed

  [1]Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Moses Stacy built the structure that became Stacy's Tavern and opened it as an inn serving travelers on the Chicago–Galena route.

• 1832

  Stacy family settles in northern Illinois

  [1]Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org

  Moses Stacy and his family were among the settlers who moved into northern Illinois following the Black Hawk War.

A locally preserved stagecoach-era inn and community museum focused on the travel, settlement, architecture, and everyday life of nineteenth-century northern Illinois.

• Historic property · 1846

  Historic Stacy's Tavern building

  The original 1846 modified Greek Revival structure is the central artifact and visitor attraction. Its construction materials, layout, and surviving architectural elements communicate how a roadside inn functioned in northern Illinois before rail transportation displaced much stagecoach travel.

• Museum exhibit space · 1846

  Tap Room

  The Tap Room is part of the restored tavern interior and is furnished with period-appropriate objects, including chairs made by an Illinois carpenter in the 1840s. It helps interpret the social and service functions of the inn for travelers and local residents.

1. 1Stacy's Tavernen.wikipedia.org