Willow Spout

Here stood, from the early 19th century until the mid-1900s, the tavern and stagecoach stop first owned by Peter Hanger. In 1848 its second proprietor, Samuel Harnsbarger, planted a willow tree in a spring here, across the newly-constructed Valley Turnpike from the tollhouse. Spring water flowed up the trunk and out a spout driven in its side, falling into a wooden trough. For more than a century, three successive "willow spouts" provided water for thirsty travelers, horses, and automobiles.