Traveling by Stagecoach
In the years leading up to and during the American Revolution, improvements in roads throughout Colonial America made travel by stagecoach possible. A stagecoach is litteraly a horse and carriage that makes the journey to its final destination through various legs or stages. Each stop allows time for the horses and passengers to rest, dine, change out passengers, and pick up mail.
By the end of the 18th century better roads led to established regular routes between the major cities of the new United States. The add to the left advertised a popular stage known as the Swift Sure Line of Coaches. It ran between Philadelphia and New York along the Old York Road leaving daily at 8 am with stops for dining and lodging along the way, arriving in Powles Hook (Jersey City) the next morning at 11 am.
Regular stagecoach travel to Cape May was available by 1801. However as the advertisement left shows, stages trips to Cape May were being adverstised in Philadelphia as early as 1771.
Regular stagecoach schedules were made possible because of public works projects throughout Cape May County and South Jersey to improve overland access. New roads and bridges were built, but they were not without problems both man made and otherwise.
The marshy and swampy terrain often led to roads and bridges being washed out.
Local politics and right of way issues over privately held lands led to delays and conflicts over construction. An attempt to build a toll road through Cape May County, the Cape May Turnpike, was met with local complaints about having to pay tolls to pass through their own lands. This led to some locals building their own roads to avoid, or "shun" the turnpike. Two of these roads still exist today, both named Shunpike Road. One in Lower and one in Middle Township.
The primary route followed by most stages would leave on a Thursday and arrive on Friday. They departed from Cooper's Ferry (modern day Camden, NJ) heading southeast making stops in Woodbury, Glassboro, Millville, Port Elizabeth and Dennisville following the route of modern day Route 47. They would turn south at Seaville and follow the route of modern day Route 9 into Cape May.
Despite attempts to improve roadways, traveling by stagecoach did not make for a particularly pleasant journey. Most roads were made of dirt or gravel and were subject to erosion from rains leaving ruts and potholes. Nine to twelve passengers had to share the coach. They were exposed to rain, wind, snow, heat, cold or whatever the weather happened to be that day. Curtains could limit exposure, but then travelers would be traveling in darkness.
The painting to the left was done in 1812 by Pavel Svinyin, a writer assigned to the Russian Consolate in Philadelphia. It provides a vivid depiction of what travel by stagecoach could be like.
One traveler described the rough ride as "being tossed in a blanket, often throwing you up to the top of the coach, as to flatten your hat, if not your head!" The poor conditions of roads meant that it was common for stagecoaches to break a wheel, snap an axle, or even flip over. In the days before roadside assistance, passengers were often employed to help fix the wheels or right the wagon.
As mentioned earlier, coaches traveled in stages, stopping for meals, rest, and lodging during the long journey. This resulted in a network of inns and taverns springing up along the route. Considering the ordeal stagecoach travel could be, the sight of a local inn would be a welcome oasis for a weary traveler.
Historic Cold Spring Village has been able to preserve one of those inns that was along the route to Cape May. The Dennisville Inn was built in 1836 and was an important stop along the route.
The building has two major rooms; a tavern where travelers and locals could get a drink, and a dining area where patrons could get a meal. There were overnight accommodations in a wing of the building that no longer exists. The innkeeper and his family lived upstairs.
The tavern’s bar (shown to the left) actually does have bars that were used to keep it secure when it was not in use. This gate could be swung up and latched when the bar was open and brought down when it was closed. It is believed that the term “bar” as a name for a place that served alcohol may have derived from the grille that enclosed the tavern keeper’s serving area.
According to the 1804 “Ordinance of Tavern Fees” from the Cape May County Hall of Records, drinks that may have been served included rum, punch, wine, sherry, sangria, strong beer and cider. As a rural community the tavern would have been an important social gathering spot. Locals would socialize with the travelers while they rested here, passing the time discussing news of the day, smoking pipes and chewing tobacco. Only men would have been allowed in the tavern, which is why there are two entrances.
