The Jenks Tavern, also known historically as the East Rupert Hotel and the Hotel G. Jenks, is a historic public accommodations house at the junction of West Dorset Road with Vermont Routes

315 __NOTOC__ Year 315 (Roman numerals, CCCXV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, year 1068 ''Ab urbe c ...

and 30 in

Rupert, Vermont Rupert is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 698 at the 2020 census. The town is home tThe Maple News a trade publication focused on the maple syrup industry, and the former Jenks Tavern, built around 1807, ...

. Built about 1807, it is a well-preserved example of an early 19th-century traveler's accommodation in southern Vermont. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1994. The building is now a private residence, the home of American playwright and author John Nassivera.

Description and history

The former Jenks Tavern is located in the village of East Rupert, overlooking the

Mettawee River The Mettawee River (sometimes spelled "Mettowee River") is a tributary of Lake Champlain in western Vermont and eastern New York in the United States. From its source at the southern slopes of Dorset Mountain, Vermont, the river flows southwards f ...

not far from the town line with

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. The tavern stands on a roughly parcel bounded on the north by Rupert Mountain Road (

Vermont Route 315 Vermont Route 315 (VT 315) is a state highway located within the town of Rupert, Vermont, Rupert in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It connects Vermont Route 153, VT 153 in Rupert, Vermont, Rupert to Vermont Route 30, VT&nb ...

), the east by

Vermont Route 30 Vermont Route 30 (VT 30) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. VT 30 runs from U.S. Route 5 in Vermont, U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and Vermont Route 9, VT 9 in Brattleboro, Vermont, Brattleboro to U.S. Rout ...

, and the west by West Dorset Road. The building is oriented facing west. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboard siding, and a stone foundation. A single-story ell extends to the rear (toward Route 30). The main facade is covered by a two-story porch, and is five bays wide with doors at the center of each level. Windows are double-hung sash throughout, with a pair of windows in the gables at the sides. The interior follows a typical center hall plan, with a large

sprung floor A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best kind for dance and indoor sports and physical education, and can enhance performance and greatly reduce injuries. Modern sprung floors are ...

ballroom on the attic level. The tavern was built about 1807 by James Moore, Jr., and was originally attached to an older tavern building that has since been torn down. His purchase and construction were occasioned by the completion of the Rupert Turnpike (now roughly Vermont 315), which connected

Pawlet, Vermont Pawlet is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census. History Pawlet was one of the New Hampshire Grants, chartered from Benning Wentworth, Governor of colonial New Hampshire. The charter was g ...

and

Salem, New York Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, former ...

. It was also originally attached to a barn, which was demolished in 1948 when Route 30 was realigned. The building was regularly (but not continuously) in use as a traveler's accommodation, and was widely known in the region for the high quality of the dance floor in its ballroom. This type of tavern was once common in southwestern Vermont, but this is now one of a few little-altered examples to survive. It has been either vacant or a private residence since the 1930s.

References

{{NRHP in Bennington County, Vermont Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Federal architecture in Vermont Commercial buildings completed in 1807 Buildings and structures in Rupert, Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Bennington County, Vermont

Description and history

See also

References