FAVOR TAVERN, DOVER Sprague's Journal of Maine History. Vol. VIII Special Number, June 1920 No. 1 page 47-49 FAVOR TAVERN, DOVER (By a member of the Piscataquis Bar.) The accompanying picture is that of the once famous and historic Favor Tavern at Dover, Me. It was once the most important stage tavern along the line of the stage route from the city of Bangor to Moosehead Lake. In its time it was not only the principal public house at Dover, the county seat of Piscataquis, but the most noted hostelry in the county and entertained in its day many dis- tinguished men. For several decades it lodged under its roof eminent judges and attorneys from all over the state whose busi- ness brought them to the regular sessions of the District and Supreme Courts sitting at Dover. It was the half way house between Bangor and the Moosehead Lake region where the lum- berman, the business man and the traveler for pleasure found it most convenient to stop off for lodging and refreshments. It is related that often times midnight parties arrived at its hospitable doors from Bangor and were served food and drink in abundance regardless of the lateness of the hour, and from which they returned to the Queen City of the East in the early hours of the morning. It figured in a celebrated road case in which the Court held that a town meeting could not properly be held on wheels. It seemed that in the case in question promoters of a much desired road caused a town meeting to be called to be held at the Favor Tavern and on the day and hour appointed the proponents of the road in accordance with a well laid plan, fearing opposition to their pur- pose, arrived in force and the Tavern in buggies to which were attached smart horses. The warrant being read by the clerk, a moderator was quickly chosen who called the meeting to order from the front door of the tavern, and thereupon a motion to adjourn to another part of town four miles distant was made and carried, whips were cracked and the interested citizens of Dover departed at full speed to the point of adjournment where the meeting was again convened and the necessary appropriation voted long before the opponents could arrive on the scene. The late D. D. Stewart, one of Maine's most distinguished lawyers, frequently stopped at the Favor Tavern during sessions of the Court. He stated on one occasion an eminent jurist, later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maine, came to his room in company with men of local importance and proposed that they pass the evening by playing high-low-jack. Partners were chosen and the game went on until a late hour. Fortune favoring Mr. Stewart and his partner to such an extent that Mr. Stewart was watched with embarrassing closeness as he handled the cards. Mr. Stewart was a man of exemplary habits who neither drank nor gambled, but frequently during the evening bell was rung by his callers and the proprietor brought the customary drinks of the times to the room which were freely partaken of by Mr. Stewarts companions. Finally when it became time to close the game the gentlemen arose from the table and one of the opponents of Mr. Stewart in the game drew his pocket book and passed a considerable sum of money to Mr. Stewart's partner, who, observ- ing the astonishment on Mr. Stewart's face, promptly and vigor- ously remarked to him: "As you won't play for staked, you can't have the money." Mr. Stewart said he could truthfully state that he had gambled and had never gambled. A day or two later, as Mr. Stewart came to settle his bill with the proprietor, he found it amounted to more than what he had expected, and on inquiry he discovered that the refreshments of the evening had been charged to his room so he promptly paid the bill, remarking that he "was glad to have the opportunity to pay for the Court's rum." On the days of the general muster which were annually held in earlier times, the Favor Tavern entertained festive crowds, and at times of important horse trots for which the twin towns were widely known, its ample stables were filled with racers from all sections of the state. The Favor Tavern was built in 1834 by Edward R. Favor, a well known innkeeper, on the site of the homestead of the Hon. Thomas Davee, who later was Piscataquis county's first member of Congress. Mr. Favor acquired the Davee property in 1832, the buildings on which were destroyed by fire in 1834 and replaced that year by the erection of the Favor Tavern which was kept by Mr. Favor for many years. He was followed in the proprietorship by E. G. Thompson, Henry Norcross, Will Nichols, Solomon Chandler and Ira F. Palmer. Mr. Palmer was followed by Elihu Sanford as proprietor from about the time of the Civil War until the early eighties. The property was finally owned by Caleb O. Palmer, a well known citizen, financier and noted horseman of Dover, who appears in the foreground of the picture with his celebrated trot- ting stallion, Closter, which held the two-year-old record for the state. On September 6, 1894, at ten o'clock in the evening, fire broke out in the stables attached and Mr. Palmer, who lived near, rushed from his house into the stables in an endeavor to rescue his wife's favorite horse and lost his life in the fire. The following year in 1895 the Tavern was torn down. Thus passed one of the important land marks in Piscataquis county. A portion of its site was set apart by Amanda E. Palmer for the benefit of the Thompson Free Library, and is know as the Caleb Orin Palmer Library Reservation. (c) 1998 Courtesy of the Androscoggin Historical Society ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.