The "The Haut Monde Visit Duffy's Tavern" Story

Duffy's Tavern in Boalsburg, PA

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished ordering a cup of crab bisque, a Duffy- burger, potato salad and a lemonade.  Sitting in an interior room of a building that was built in 1819 in historic Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.  The village was settled in 1806 by Scotch Irish at the foot of Tussey Mountain.  Carol and I are visiting with our friends Jerry and Just Sue who live in nearby State College and  decided to take us to Duffy's Tavern for lunch.  

Duffy's Tavern in the 1800's.

Duffy's was supposed to be one of three taverns that was established in the village for those traveling by stagecoach.  The "gentry", or elite class, were believed to frequent Duffy's Tavern which was built by Colonel James Johnson with his wife Hannah.  In 1934 it was partially destroyed by fire, but later was carefully restored to its original condition.  The walls of the building are 22 inch stone which allegedly tend to keep the interior temperature between 68 and 70 degrees on hot summer days.  

In 1934 Duffy's was almost destroyed by a devastating fire.

At one time the entire second floor was a ballroom which had a hinged panel that was let down at the close of the dance to separate the sleeping quarters so men would be on one side and the women of the other.  Not sure how well that worked, but it makes for a good story!  My crab bisque was very tasty with plenty of crab meat and mildly spicy.  My burger came with cheese and caramelized onions and medium as I requested.  

Part of the second floor at Duffy's Tavern.

After lunch I began a self-guided tour of the old tavern to take some photos to share with you.  I asked our waitress about the second floor and the dance hall.  She walked me into another room, moved a small table and opened a wall panel that led to the second floor.  Told me to be extremely careful if I cared to walk the very narrow and steep stairs.  I climbed the stairs and got to see the dance floor and small tables sitting around the circumference of the room.  Can't imagine patrons, laden with a mug of sudsy beer, climbing the stairs without a few accidents.  Neat to think that I ate in, and explored, a tavern where royalty and I'm sure some pretty famous Americans probably ate, drank, danced and slept the night away centuries ago. My guess is that someone in the village probably has a tale about George Washington visiting the village at one time and sleeping at the tavern.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary day.  PS - Following are a few more photos from my trip to Duffy's Tavern.

One of the rather different alcoholic offerings in Duffy's.