LOCATION:
Lucas Tavern is part of a grouping
of historical buildings, called Old Alabama Town that can all be found
in Old North Hull Square, in the Old North Hull Historic District. The
address is 310 North Hull Street, Montgomery, AL 36104.
DESCRIPTION:
Lucas Tavern is a building with a
main tavern room, a kitchen, an eating area and bedrooms, that was fully
restored by 1979, when the group of historical buildings it is apart of
were all revitalized and returned to their original condition. It became
the Visitor's Reception Center and the home of the offices of the Historic
District, an organization that runs this living museum of historical buildings,
popular with tourists. It is open to the public for a small fee, Monday
through Saturday, from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM. On Sunday, it is open form
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.
The back door of the Tavern opens
up onto a square of historical buildings. All the buildings have been
equipped with the furniture, details of their past. The third building
from the Tavern is the 1890, one room school house, complete with a potbellied
stove, an old pine school teacher desk, a kerosene e lamp, pupils' desks,
an abacus and the children's writing slates, plus various books used in
the instruction of the class.
Guides are dressed in period costumes,
ready to explain and help the visitor experience life of that period.
They also do their best to welcome
visitors in the same spirit as a former owner of the Lucas Tavern, Eliza
Lucas.
HISTORY:
During the 1820 - 1840 era, Lucas
Tavern was a favorite, upscale place for travelers to spend the night
in clean beds, and enjoy a good meal, and the warm southern hospitality
of its owner and hostess, Eliza Lucas. Travelers like General Lafayette,
who stayed there in 1825, enjoyed a dinner feast of a variety of Tavern
fare, that offered such items as chicken, ham, five vegetables, pudding
and sauce, sweet pies, preserved fruits, and a wonderful dessert of strawberries
and plums, along with wine and brandy.
Eliza loved what she did, and raised
her family here. She had had little education, but was a motivated, hard
worker, who put her all into her Tavern. Her warm hospitality, pleasant
disposition and wonderful service she offered her guests made her Tavern
business a success.
In the 1840's the Lucas Tavern became
a private home for over 100 years. The building was abandoned in the 1960's,
but fortunately the Landmarks
Foundation stepped in to rescue it during 1978, and moved the famous
Tavern into Old Alabama Town. Restoration of Lucas Tavern was completed
in 1980.
HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:
The spirit of Eliza Lucas became active
in 1980, after the renovations of the Tavern was complete, and the living
had moved into the offices, located in the old bedrooms. Not only was
her beloved Tavern restored, but she once again had people coming, visiting
and occupying her Tavern.
She also was pleased that the buildings
she spent her life around were also restored, as she began visiting them
as well.
MANIFESTATIONS:
1) The most common sighting of Eliza
Lucas, is that of a 5 ft., 3 inch woman, dressed in a Victorian dress,
waving cordially and smiling at people passing by, while she stands at
the doorway of the Tavern, a favorite place of hers.
A) On one Saturday morning in
1985, a man came inside the Tavern earnestly wanting to meet Eliza,
whom he had first encountered just inside the front door of the Tavern.
2) Eliza Lucas has also not only appeared
to various staff and guides, she also considers herself a member of the
governing Old Hull Historic committee. She is well thought of by the staff
who appreciate her warm, friendly, helpful, cordial presence, a spirit
who appreciates them as well.
Main Fireplace - Far left in picture.
A) At one late afternoon meeting, that
took place in front of the fireplace in the main Tavern room, a controversial
matter was being discussed. One committee member became quite agitated,
and angry while expounding his / her point of view. Suddenly, a great
puff of smoke and ashes blasted from the fireplace, covering this angry
person with a coat of gritty chimney soot, much to the amazement of
the people there. (It was assumed that Eliza Lucas didn't approve of
this person's hostile tone and opinion, that didn't meet her southern
hospitality manner standards of being pleasant and finding ways to settle
disagreements amiably.)
B) The staff has to watch what they
say as well. During a lunchtime break, two staff members were discussing
the Historical District and how it operates, perhaps being a little
too critical, in Eliza's opinion. Suddenly, the door to their room began
to slide off its hinges and hit the floor with a thud. (Eliza seems
to supervise the staff as well, letting them know that she hears what
they discuss, and will let them know if their behavior doesn't meet
her standards.)
C) Eliza also takes objects and
puts them in different areas. She likes to rearrange, straighten up
or put in disarray various objects / things / displays.
3) Eliza Lucas also has visited the
other historical buildings, materializing in front of both staff and visitors.
She especially likes the school room, and has even filled in as a photographer's
model, like a regular guide would do.
A) In the late afternoon, on one August
day in 1986, an amateur photographer talked the staff into letting him
take pictures after the museum had officially closed. He went to the school
room first, because it would soon be too dark to take natural light pictures.
As he walked toward the school, he wished that he had one of the guides
to act as a model, pretending to be the teacher. He entered the room,
and quietly closed the door. When he looked up, much to his surprise he
saw what he thought was a guide, dressed in her 19th century Victorian
costume. She was standing by the window, studying a McGuffy Reader, used
by the children, setting up the perfect picture.
After taking some pictures from various
positions of this guide, his tripod hit the leg of a nearby desk with
a loud crack, startling the woman, causing her to hurriedly start to leave.
He pleaded with her to sit at the teacher's desk, so he could get some
more photos. She didn't answer him, but went to the picture of George
Washington, hanging on the wall, and stood under it. She then looked directly
at the photographer, smiled at him, and waved deliberately and slowly
at him. He noticed something strange in her eyes. She didn't react to
him as a person, but looked directly at his face, making eye contact.
Despite it being a warm August day, the photographer was enveloped with
chills which permeated his being. Much to his astonishment, the woman
floated through the wall under the Washington picture, and disappeared!
The photographer came back the next
day and talked to the guide on duty in the Visitor's Center in the Tavern,
where he learned of Eliza Lucas. As he was about to leave, he found the
McGuffy Reader from the school room laying right at his feet, which wasn't
there the moment before.
When he developed the film taken of
Eliza Lukas inside the school, the pictures were blank, except for the
bright golden light, which was seen in the place where Eliza was standing
in each picture, which varied, according to how the photographer had framed
his shot.
STILL HAUNTED?
Yes, Eliza happily haunts her beloved
Tavern, and the other historical buildings, very pleased with the fine
renovations work. She is pleased with the friendly people on staff that
welcome the living to her own establishment, a place that she nurtured
and ran with dedication while she was alive.
.
