The "Elizabethtown's 'Black Bear Tavern"" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Taking a ride with my wife, Carol, through the small town known as Elizabethtown which is to the west of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania where we live.  Our trip today is take photographs of a building that was constructed in the mid-1700s.  It was known as the "Black Bear Tavern" as well as "The Sign of the Bear" and at one time was the hub of community life.  Didn't take long to find the old, weathered building at 56 N. Market Street that has seen better times.  Just to stand in front of the building with my camera was a thrill and honor, knowing that many a famous traveler more than likely stood in the same spot years and years ago.   The former tavern was built in 1745 by Thomas and Mary Harris.  It was constructed along Market Street to replace another tavern that had been built at the same location ten years prior.  The Borough officials recently received a $1 million grant to restore the historic building and make it the centerpiece of a downtown revitalization plan.  The grant is to be used as seed money to help attract funding for a full renovation of the tavern which will be the centerpiece of the town.   The borough bought the building in 2018 to make sure it remains a public building.  In Colonial times it was a regular stop for traders doing business with natives living in the Susquehanna Valley.  In 1915 the building underwent an extensive restoration and an inscription, which read "T.M.H. 1745" was found.  More than likely that was from former renovations from Mr. Harris.  Farmer's Mutual Insurance Company operated in the building for decades before selling it in 2014.  The Borough Council acquired the building in 2018 and explored the idea of making the building borough headquarters.  The size of the building made the Council decide to sell the property.  I'm sure the town is anxious to see how the building will be used in the near future.  It will need a lot of love to make it what it used to be, but that can be done.  Here's hoping it will once again be the centerpiece of the town known as Elizabethtown, PA.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The front of the building.  A line of plaques stand in front of the building that tell the history of the building, starting when the building was first built in 1745.

The first plaque tells that the building was built around 1745 by Thomas and Mary Harris and was known as the Black Bear Tavern.  It was a trading post as well as a "public building."  In 1753 it was sold to tavern keeper Barnabus Hughes who named the town after his wife Elizabeth.

The second plaque tells that by the mid-1800's the Black Bear Tavern no longer prospered.  The building served as a residence for various tenant farmers.

The third plaque tells that Dr. Vere Treichler purchased the property in 1912 and hired Calvin James Young, an architect from Reading, to design interior renovations making the building suitable for offices on the first floor and his residence above it.  The date stone on the east end was added during this renovation.

The date that the building was first built and when renovations took place.

This small image of the first building is found at the end of the row of plaques telling the history of the building.  It shows the size of the first building on this location.