1. Introduction
Ransom Tavern was the first home in the oldest town in what would later become Erie County.[FN2] When it was built in 1799, the United States of America was just 23 years old. It was used as a tavern, the first office of the Holland Land Company, a town meeting hall, a post office, and was later used as a Masonic lodge. Given its central location between Buffalo and Batavia on the primary travel route of the time, it was an oasis in the wilderness for numerous pioneer travelers. It has direct ties to several significant national and local historic personages and events, including the War of 1812 and the founding of Buffalo, Clarence, and Amherst. Joseph Ellicott lived there in 1801 and it was one of the only homes that he specifically identified by name on his famous “Morris Purchase Map” in 1804. It was also specifically referenced in the New York State Law that created Buffalo in 1810.
Asa Ransom was born on December 2, 1765 in Colchester, Connecticut. He was the 4th and 5th great grandson respectively, of John Howland and John Tilley, who arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1620. Asa’s father, Elias Ransom, Sr., passed away in 1773 when Asa was only eight years old. His mother Sarah remarried in 1774 to Ichabod Hopkins. Asa's half-brother Timothy Hopkins (who will play a key role in the story of Ransom Tavern) was born in 1776 when Asa was 11 years old. In just a few years, Asa’s world was turned upside-down (both by the death of his father and by the onset of the Revolutionary War). The appearance of Ransom Tavern on the Western New York frontier was the direct result of a series of events that were set in motion by the Revolutionary War.[FN3] This is where its story begins.
2. Context for the Appearance of Ransom Tavern in Western New York (1775-1798)
Throughout the Revolutionary War, Western New York was under the control of the British. This was largely due to the presence of Fort Niagara, strategically located at the northwestern corner of Western New York at the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake Ontario. It was used as a British base of operations for Lt. Col. John Butler and his loyalist troops, Butler's Rangers, along with their Seneca allies.[FN4] From 1777 to 1778, they set out from Fort Niagara and engaged in brutal raids of colonial settlements throughout New York and Pennsylvania with the aim of destroying the farms that were feeding the Continental Army.
Although the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the British nevertheless remained in control of Western New York for another 13 years due to their continued occupation of Fort Niagara. It was not until August 10, 1796, after the signing of the Jay Treaty, that American forces gained control of Fort Niagara. Because of the strong British presence in Western New York, coupled with the inability to purchase land, there was very little pioneer settlement in Western New York prior to 1796.
On October 12, 1794, Asa Ransom married Keziah Keyes in Sheffield, Massachusetts. In 1795, they then moved west and settled near what is now Geneva, New York. Their first child, Portia, was born there on December 20, 1795. In the fall of 1796, the Ransoms moved to Western New York and settled at the mouth of Buffalo Creek near Lake Erie. Asa was 30 years old and Keziah was 24. The Ransoms were no doubt encouraged by the withdrawal of the British from Fort Niagara and enticed by the prospect of low-cost land to purchase. Asa worked as a silversmith and traded silver trinkets with the Haudenosaunee and other settlers.
The settlement, simply referred to as “Buffalo Creek”, was not much more than a trading outpost with only about six houses and a population of only around twenty settlers. The settlement looked out across Lake Erie at Fort Erie, which was built by the British in 1764 and was also used as a supply base for British troops, loyalist rangers, and Six Nations warriors during the Revolutionary War. Unlike Fort Niagara, however, it remained under British control and loomed as a constant potential threat.
Buffalo Creek increased its population by one on February 27, 1798, with the birth of Sophia Ransom. Sophia’s birth was the first recorded of a child to a settler in what would later become Erie County. Later that year, Asa’s half-brother Timothy S. Hopkins (then just 22) was the first of many of his family to follow him to Western New York, finding his way on foot through the wilderness to Asa’s small log cabin at Buffalo Creek.[FN5]
The withdrawal of the British in 1796 also made Robert Morris eager to take action to clear title to his land holdings in Western New York. Morris was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, as well as a major financier of the American Revolution. At the time, he was the richest man in America. On March 12, 1791, Massachusetts agreed to sell its rights to this region (but without clear title) to Morris.[FN6] In 1792 and 1793, Morris conditionally sold the great bulk of his land holdings (3.3 million acres) to the Holland Land Company, which was formed in 1789 by Dutch firms interested in financial opportunities in the young nation. Before the Holland Land Company would pay Morris, however, it required that he secure clear title to the lands from the Seneca.
With both Morris and the Holland Land Company facing mounting financial pressures, Morris applied to President George Washington in 1797 to appoint a commissioner to preside at a treaty conference with the Seneca to obtain title to their western lands. Over one thousand Seneca attended the conference held at Geneseo, New York, led by such notable Seneca chiefs as Red Jacket, Farmer's Brother, and Cornplanter. Joseph Ellicott, who had just been appointed as Chief of Survey by the Holland Land Company a month earlier, was among the individuals present representing the Holland Land Company. On September 15, 1797, fifty-two Seneca leaders signed the Treaty of Big Tree clearing title to the lands in Western New York and reserving for themselves approximately 200,000 acres. With the signing of the Treaty of Big Tree, Morris officially transferred to the Holland Land Company what had been conditionally agreed to in 1792 and 1793.
A major obstacle, however, prevented the Holland Land Company in profiting from its land holdings: foreigners were not legally permitted to hold lands in New York State. It tried to try get around this problem by using American trustees to hold the funds, but this proved to be impractical. On April 2, 1798, Aaron Burr, as a member of the New York Assembly (and who just happened to have a financial interest in the Holland Land Company), secured passage of a bill that permitted the Dutch to take title to land in New York on a conditional basis. Though not a complete solution, it paved the way forward for the Holland Land Company.
3. First Period of Significance (1799-1837) – Tavern & Holland Land Company Office
In early 1799, Asa Ransom was the first settler to take advantage of the Holland Land Company’s offer of the sale of lots to "any proper man who would build and operate a tavern upon it." These lots were 10 miles apart and were sold at the company's lowest price of $2 per acre on a long-term, no interest, basis. Asa's lot was located about 17 miles to the northeast of Buffalo Creek (Township 12, Range 6, Lot 13), a square lot of 150 acres located in a natural geological “bowl” with a creek running through it in what would later be known as “Clarence Hollow”.
Starting in the spring of 1799, Asa began to clear his lot and build a large two-story log home and tavern. Asa was assisted by his younger half-brother Timothy Hopkins. As Joseph Ellicott had a team of “axe men” with him to improve the roads and clear the “Transit Line” not far from there (now Transit Road). It is very likely that Ellicott may have had these “axe men” help Asa cut down the trees and shape/notch/assemble them, especially since Ellicott was planning on living there and using it as the Holland Land Company Office. Asa also enlisted the assistance of the local Seneca to help him as he had developed friendly relations with them. They referred to him as “O-wis-ta-no-at-squo-nich” (or the “maker of silver”). Many members of the Seneca Nation who had taken refuge near Fort Niagara during the Revolutionary War had settled in the area of the Tonawanda Village on Tonawanda Creek (later the “Tonawanda Reservation”), located just to the northeast of Ransom Tavern.
On September 1, 1799, the Ransoms moved into the Tavern. It was just in time as Keziah was eight months pregnant with their son Harry, who would be born just two months later on November 5, 1799. Harry was the first recorded birth of a child to a settler in what would become Clarence. The “settlement”, which at first only consisted of Ransom Tavern, was known variously as “Pine Grove”, “Sweet Water Farm”, “Ransom's Grove”, “Ransomville”, “Ransom's Mills”, or just “Ransom’s” (the name used changed frequently in correspondence).[FN7]
At the time, the location was a frontier wilderness, and “Main Street” was little more than an old Haudenosaunee trail. The woods were dense and filled with wolves. Tensions with the British also remained high. While the British had crossed the Niagara River into Canada just three years earlier, they were never far from striking distance as they were still just across the Niagara River at both Fort Erie and the recently constructed Fort George (built by the British across the Niagara River opposite Fort Niagara when they turned it over to the Americans).
* Exterior of Ransom Tavern
In January of 1801, Joseph Ellicott moved into Ransom Tavern and opened the first office of the Holland Land Company there. Ellicott chose Ransom Tavern as it was the first non-military structure of any substantial size in the region, was centrally located between Buffalo and Batavia, and was situated on the primary route used by settlers heading to Buffalo and beyond from eastern New York and New England. The route was known as the “Great Genesee Road” and extended from Fort Schuyler in Utica to Buffalo.[FN8] This was the first state road in New York State. The portion of the road that ran from Batavia to Buffalo was referred to as the “Buffalo Road” (now “Main Street” or “Route 5”). Many of Ellicott’s letters were addressed to and from Ransom Tavern.
Ransom Tavern was also located just east of Ellicott’s “Transit Meridian Line” (or just the “Transit Line”), which was a north-south survey line (from Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario) which Ellicott had laid out in 1798 to mark the boundary of the Holland Land Company Purchase. The portion of the Transit Line near Ransom Tavern (now “Transit Road”) is where the surveying of the Holland Land Company began. Ellicott hired a crew of surveyors, axe men, and chainmen to create a 50 to 66 feet wide path through the thick forest. In the spring of 1799, the Transit Line was completed. Once cleared, the Transit Line was used by early settlers as a means of travel and as a clear visual landmark by which to find their lot purchases. Ellicott no doubt had his team of axe men also help Asa cut down the trees and shape/notch/assemble them for Ransom Tavern, especially since Ellicott was planning on living there and using it as his Holland Land Company Office.
Land sales began at Ransom Tavern in 1801, with the execution of the first formal articles of agreement of many early settlers taking place in Ransom Tavern. Among the very first sales were made to, of course, Asa (first agreement, dated September 1799), as well as Asa’s half-brothers Orlando Hopkins (third agreement, dated March 1801) and Timothy Hopkins (sixth agreement, dated October 1801).[FN10] Timothy and Orlando were some of Asa’s first neighbors. In 1801, Timothy was the first person on the Holland Land Purchase to raise wheat.
In December of 1801, Asa was appointed as the Justice of the Peace for the region that would later become Erie County by New York State Governor George Clinton (a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War). Asa was the first individual to ever serve in the capacity of a government official in the region. Governor Clinton tasked his nephew and personal secretary, DeWitt Clinton, with delivering the appointment papers to Asa at his tavern.
Genesee County was established in 1802 (carved out of “Ontario County”). The Town of Batavia was also founded as the single, original town of Genesee County.[FN11] At the first town meeting of the Town of Batavia, Asa was elected assessor and Timothy and Orlando were both elected as overseers of highways. Joseph Ellicott moved the operations of the Holland Land Office to Batavia that year. The Town of Willink was carved out of the Town of Batavia in 1804 and comprised the entirety of the western portion of Genesee County.[FN12] That year Ellicott also laid out the street plan for the village “New Amsterdam” (Buffalo) and completed his “Morris Purchase Map” depicting all of Western New York. Ransom Tavern was one of only three homes specifically identified by name on Ellicott’s Morris Purchase Map.
* Ellicott's famous 1804 Morris Purchase Map. Ellicott’s superior, Paul Busti, was so impressed with the map that he wrote to him saying that it “will one day be a precious monument.”
A few days later, on March 11, 1808, the Town of Clarence was officially formed by the New York State Legislature as part of newly formed Niagara County (carved out of Genesee County in 1808). Clarence was carved out of Willink, forming the northern part of the yet to be created Erie County and leaving the remainder of Willink to the south. Clarence was geographically massive, consisting of present-day northern Erie County (including the City of Buffalo and the towns of Amherst, Alden, Lancaster and Newstead). Clarence (in the north) and Willink (in the south) then comprised the entire area of what would later become Erie County in 1821.[FN14]
On April 2, 1808, the first meeting of the Town of Clarence was held at the tavern of Elias Ransom (Asa’s older brother by three years).[FN15] At that meeting, Asa’s half-brothers were elected to the following positions: Timothy was elected assessor and Otis was elected as constable and collector. Ironically, although Asa is called the “founder of Clarence”, he was not actually happy about the creation of the Town of Clarence (a division to which he had objected a month earlier).[FN16] This probably explains why the first meeting of the Town of Clarence was held at Elias’s tavern rather than his own (which seems very odd). Although Asa served as supervisor of the Town of Willink, he would never serve as supervisor of the Town of Clarence.[FN17]
On January 30, 1810, the Town of Buffalo was formed and carved out of the Town of Clarence by act of the New York State Legislature, which specifically referenced Ransom Tavern in the text of the law.[FN18] The first meeting of the Town of Buffalo was held shortly thereafter, once again at Elias’s tavern.
In August of 1810, DeWitt Clinton returned to Ransom Tavern, this time as part of the Erie Canal Commission. The prospect of bringing the canal project to the frontier settlement of Western New York was astonishing in its ambition and brought great excitement about the future. Things were really looking up for Buffalo and the region. A couple of years later, however, the tensions with the British would boil over on June 18, 1812 with the start of the War of 1812, bringing Buffalo’s progress to an abrupt and disastrous halt.
During the War of 1812, Asa served as a captain of a company of mounted volunteers. His half-brother Timothy, however, was promoted to the position of brigadier-general of the militia and was given complete command of the militia on December 20, 1813, just days before the British attack on Buffalo. General George McClure took the regulars (and the ammunition) and fled Buffalo, leaving the region practically defenseless. In a very moving letter to Governor Tompkins, dated December 20, 1813, Timothy lamented the actions of General McClure, his abandonment of Buffalo, and his fear that “nothing will save any part of the frontier but a respectable force.” He ended the letter with, “I feel it a duty which I owe my country and this frontier to make the foregoing statement and earnestly solicit Your Excellency’s interposition for our safety.” Unfortunately, that “interposition” would not come.
Buffalo was burned by the British 10 days later following the Battle of Black Rock on December 30, 1813. It was destroyed by the British in retaliation for the General McClure’s burning of the Town of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) in Canada on December 10, 1813.[FN19] The British captured Fort Niagara from the Americans a mere 9 days later on December 19, 1813, and launched its attack on Western New York 11 days later, burning Fort Schlosser and the villages of Youngstown, Lewiston, Manchester (later Niagara Falls), and Black Rock on their march south before burning Buffalo. Asa and Timothy were both present at the Battle of Black Rock and were witnesses to the burning of Buffalo.
Asa must have been extremely anxious for the safety of his little brother Timothy, and also deeply saddened by the sight of Buffalo (and his original small cabin) going up in flames. At the same time, he must have thought back with gratitude on his decision to leave Buffalo and settle in Clarence. Ransom Tavern provided shelter and comfort to wounded soldiers and citizens as they fled from the flames, blades, and gunfire of the British and their indigenous allies during those cold winter days. Those were dark days, filled with sadness for all that had been lost and anxiety about the future.
In early 1814, Asa submitted a scathing affidavit critical of General McClure as part of the investigation of McClure’s conduct. Asa stated that he personally heard McClure say that he was taking the regulars and ammunition due to a personal dispute with Colonel Cyrenius Chapin, and that he heard McClure state as follows: “I will stay and defend you if the inhabitants will arrest and bind that damned rascal Chapin and bring him to me; if they will not do that they may all be destroyed and I don’t care how soon.”[FN20] McClure would never hold a command again. Fort Niagara would be returned to the Americans on May 22, 1815, following the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on Christmas Eve of 1814 (a Christmas that must have brought particular joy and great relief to the people of Western New York).
Asa and Keziah had ten children, many of whom went on to live long and prosperous lives. Asa passed away on March 11, 1835 at the age of 69. Keziah passed away two years later on June 14, 1837 at the age of 66. Asa and Keziah were industrious, resourceful, and courageous people. Ransom Tavern, the oldest and most historic residential structure in Erie County, is an enduring symbol of their incredible legacy and a monument to the resilience and fortitude of all early settlers in the region.
*Asa Ransom’s signature from letter to Joseph Ellicott.
4. Second Period of Significance (1837-1844) – Masonic Lodge
Ransom Tavern gained additional historic significance when it was later used as a meeting hall for a Masonic lodge (Centre Lodge 356). The members of Centre Lodge 356 first petitioned to form a lodge at Clarence on January 31, 1814. The group consisted of many veterans of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Although the Lodge was not formally recognized by the Grand Lodge until 1823, the group likely started meeting, possibly at Ransom Tavern, as early as 1814.
Just a few months after Asa Ransom passed away in 1835, Rhodes Stranahan (one of the founders of the Centre Lodge 356) purchased a parcel of land at 10897 Main Street (Archibald Clarke, another founder of the Centre Lodge 356, had also owned the same parcel but he had previously passed away). When Asa’s wife Keziah died just two years later in 1837, and with all the children grown, Ransom Tavern sat empty. This is when Stranahan and the other members of Centre Lodge 356 (who had the manpower and resources for such an undertaking) likely purchased it and moved it just up the street to the east at 10897 Main.[FN21] It is significant that Archibald Clarke’s daughter Betsey was married to Asa Ransom, Jr. as she no doubt influenced the transaction. As 1837 was also the year of a deep financial crisis in the United States, there may have been some financial pressure to sell the Tavern as well.
Although it was common for the Masons to meet in taverns in the early 1800s, the purchase of Ransom Tavern by the Masons in 1837 must have been a topic of some controversy around the village hearth fires, particularly following the infamous William Morgan scandal of 1826 (just down the road in Batavia) and the rise of the Anti-Masonic Party in the late 1820s and early 1830s. The Masons were viewed with deep suspicion and disapproval at this time. Significantly, President Millard Fillmore of Buffalo originally rose to power on the Anti-Masonic Party ticket, yet his uncle, Calvin Fillmore, was a member of Clarence’s Center Lodge 356, which met in Ransom’s Tavern.
The sale of Ransom Tavern to the Masons was no doubt a divisive event for the community and the Ransom family as well. Asa, Jr. and Betsey left Clarence not long thereafter, possibly due in part to this controversy, and purchased substantial land on Grand Island where Asa, Jr. started a successful lumber company. Interestingly, Clark Ransom (son of Asa Ransom Jr. and named after Mason Archibald Clarke) was later master of Masonic Lodge No. 247 in Tonawanda in 1866.
Due to this controversy, and a desire for privacy, the Masons opted to move the Tavern out of the heart of the village to a less populated area a short distance away on “East Hill”. The Masons used Ransom Tavern as a meeting hall for approximately 8 years, until around 1844. Rhodes Stranahan died in 1844 and is buried in a nearby cemetery on Ransom Road. There is a Masonic symbol prominently displayed on his gravestone.
After a period involving some litigation over Stranahan’s estate, Ransom Tavern was purchased by the Rice-Sinclair family in 1850 and they occupied it for the next 94 years. The Rice-Sinclair family was the first family to live in the Tavern since the Ransom family in 1837. In a newspaper article from 1917, a member of the Rice-Sinclair family explained that the old two-story log home was not only “older than Buffalo—built long before the War of 1812”, and that it was used as a tavern, but that it was also used as a meeting hall by a Masonic lodge.
In 1944, Doris Brace purchased it and the Brace family, including David and Patricia Brace, cared for it for 64 years until 2008 when it was designated by the Town of Clarence as its very first historic landmark. Although Ransom Tavern was moved, it has stand-alone significance as a Masonic lodge, as well as for its architectural value and its association with historic personages and events. Ransom Tavern is also one of the oldest remaining Masonic lodge meeting halls in New York State. Its subsequent use as a Masonic lodge only further enhances its already astonishing historical pedigree.
B. ASSOCIATION WITH HISTORIC PERSONAGES
Ransom Tavern is associated with the following historic personages (among others):
• Asa and Keziah Ransom – Asa and Keziah Ransom were among the first settlers in Western New York. Asa Ransom, the founder of the Town of Clarence, was a justice of the peace, an officer in the militia during the War of 1812, a silversmith, a tavern keeper, a sawmill operator, a gristmill operator, a farmer, a town supervisor, a postmaster, an assessor, and served eight terms as county sheriff.
• Timothy S. Hopkins – Half-brother of Asa Ransom. He helped build Ransom Tavern and likely lived in it for some time. He was also one of the first settlers in Erie County. He served as Brigadier-General of the militia at the Battle of Black Rock during the War of 1812. He later moved to what would become the Town of Amherst and was elected as its first supervisor. He is considered a founder of the Town of Amherst.
• Joseph Ellicott - Chief of Survey and agent for the Holland Land Company. He lived in the Tavern and used it as the first office and headquarters of the Holland Land Company. The Holland Land Company transformed settlement patterns in Western New York. Joseph Ellicott is considered the founder of both Buffalo and Batavia, laying out Batavia in 1801 and Buffalo in 1804. Ellicott was a presidential elector in 1804, voting for Thomas Jefferson. From March 1806 to June 1807, he was the first judge of the Genesee County Court. He strongly advocated for the Erie Canal and was among the Erie Canal Commissioners appointed in 1816 to supervise the canal construction. He also arranged for the contribution of more than 100,000 acres Holland Land Company land to the project. He was friends with Archibald Clarke, discussed below, and worked with him to move the Erie Canal project forward. Ellicottville, New York is named after him.
• Theodosia Burr Alston - Aaron Burr, perhaps one of the most controversial of the founding fathers, was instrumental in paving the way for the formation of the Holland Land Company and personally had land holdings in Western New York (visiting in 1798). He regularly corresponded with the leadership of the Holland Land Company. He was Vice-President under President Thomas Jefferson during this period. This relationship led to Aaron Burr’s daughter, Theodosia, visiting Ransom Tavern in July of 1801 on route to Niagara Falls, which was the first recorded honeymoon there and sparked a national trend for other newlyweds. Her mysterious disappearance in 1813 captivated the nation. “Dear Theodosia” is a popular song from the Broadway musical, “Hamilton”.
• DeWitt Clinton - In December of 1801, Asa Ransom was appointed by the Governor of New York, George Clinton (a founding father a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War), as the Justice of the Peace for region of Genesee Country. Governor George Clinton tasked his nephew and personal secretary, DeWitt Clinton, with delivering the papers of appointment to Asa Ransom at his Tavern. In 1810, DeWitt was appointed as head of the Erie Canal Commission and passed through Clarence once again as part of those duties. In 1817, DeWitt became Governor of New York State himself. DeWitt was the driving force behind the completion of the Erie Canal (often referred to as “Clinton’s Big Ditch”) which, when completed in 1825, radically transformed Western New York. His father was Major General James Clinton of the infamous Clinton-Sullivan Campaign.
• Archibald S. Clarke - Founding member and first Grand Master of Masonic lodge, Centre Lodge 356. He was an owner of the land at 10897 Main. He served as Niagara County Surrogate in 1808 and 1809, a member of the State Assembly from 1808 to 1809, in the State Senate from 1813 to 1816, and in the United States House of Representatives from 1816 to 1817. He was close friends with Joseph Ellicott and played a political role in the creation of the Erie Canal. His daughter Betsey married Asa Ransom, Jr. and was instrumental in the acquisition of Ransom Tavern by Centre Lodge 356 for their Masonic meeting hall.
• Rhodes Stranahan - Founding member and First Senior Warden of Masonic lodge, Centre Lodge 356. He was an owner of the land at 10897 Main from 1835 until his passing in 1844.
• Asa Harris - Founding member of Masonic lodge, Centre Lodge 356. He was a former colonial officer from the American Revolution. In in 1807, he built a tavern approximately 5 miles to the west of Ransom Tavern, which is the second oldest still standing home in Western New York (now housing a dry cleaning business). It played a critical role during the War of 1812 as it was the location of both the Erie County Clerk and the regional newspaper following the burning of Buffalo. It also sheltered many fleeing citizens of Buffalo and wounded soldiers during the cold winter of 1813. With Ransom Tavern to the east and Harris Tavern to the west, they are two astonishingly historic bookends on Main Street in the Town of Clarence.
• Calvin Fillmore - Founding member of Masonic lodge, Centre Lodge 356. He was the uncle of both President Millard Fillmore and the Reverend Glezen Fillmore (conductor on the Underground Railroad, also of Clarence). Ironically, his nephew Millard rose to fame as part of the Anti-Masonic Party. Calvin Fillmore served as coroner of Erie County, New York and a member of the New York State Assembly. His father, Nathaniel Fillmore Sr., was an officer in the Green Mountain Boys during the Revolutionary War.
C. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND INTEGRITY
Below is an excerpt of Clinton-Brown’s recommendation of 10897 Main for designation as a local historic landmark in 2007: [FN22]
Historian John Conlin describes 10897 Main as a "highly important piece of post-colonial architecture [that] has no peer in Western New York."[FN23] Below are a few sample images showing the exterior condition and setting of Ransom Tavern:
On the interior, Ransom Tavern still looks largely as it did in 1799. It still has exposed hand-hewn log walls and beams, wide plank floors, colonial hardware, bark-covered pine trusses with axe carved Roman numerals, peg holes from Ellicott’s bookshelves, and a steep covered staircase with worn grooves from over 225 years of foot traffic.
Note on Alterations:
Although much of Ransom’s Tavern is unchanged, there were a few alterations of note. First, the chimneys originally ran through the roof just inside the eves (typical of the Federal or Adams style popular between 1780 and 1820). Due to deterioration, and for additional space, the twin chimneys were moved to the outside walls in the 1940s. The upstairs fireplaces were also removed at that time. Second, the home was extended with additions in the rear sometime after 1850 by the Rice-Sinclair family, including the addition of an extended “summer kitchen” to the southeast. Two additional chimneys can be seen in that portion of the home in old photos, but only a remnant of one of those chimneys remains in the large back upper room (under the angled salt-box roof). Sometime in the 2000s, the Brace family squared off the back portion of the home of the old extended summer kitchen and added a sitting room and patio off to the rear of the kitchen. The windows in the front of the house are wooden single-paned glass dating to approximately the 1910s (12 over 12 wooden window grills were added for aesthetic effect). Some of the windows in the rear of the home date to approximately the 1860s. There is also a well (1850s) and a non-historic outbuilding (late 1940s). Lastly, although Ransom Tavern was moved a relatively short distance down the street, it is still located in Clarence Hollow and still on the historic “Buffalo Road”.
Historian Commentary:
Historian Rick Falkowski, in his 2023 book, The Spirit of Buffalo Women: Prominent Women Who Called WNY Their Home, stated that the original Ransom’s tavern is located at 10897 Main and may be the oldest building in Western New York (emphasis added):
Asa Ransom died in 1835 and Keziah survived him by two years, passing away in 1837 at the age of 65. The Ransom Hotel was referred to in 1799 as a large two-story log tavern on the west fork of Ransom Creek on Main Street in Clarence Hollow (then Pine Grove). From 1799 until 1837 there is mention of the property in legal notices, history books, maps and newspapers. After 1837 there is no mention of the Ransom property. It did not burn down and was not demolished. It is possible that it was purchased by the Masons and moved down the street to 10897 Main Street. The home matches descriptions of the original Ranson Tavern and 10897 Main Street is never mentioned on any documents until after 1837. That means the original Ransom building is still standing at 10897 Main Street and may be the oldest existing building in WNY.
[Falkowski, Rick, The Spirit of Buffalo Women: Prominent Women Who Called WNY Their Home (Buffalo, New York: Buffalo History Books, November 15, 2023), 148-149.]
Similarly, Historian John Conlin (former director of the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier) performed a survey of log homes in Erie County and stated in a 1997 interview with The Clarence Bee that the subject structure is “almost certainly” Ransom’s tavern (emphasis added):
‘There were never more than three two-story long homes built here…. Of the three two-story log houses built, one is in Tonawanda and two are in Clarence. One of the two Clarence buildings is a Pennsylvania German style log house; the other is a New England style. I know of no other surviving New England style log house in Erie County.’ Thus, Conlin concluded that, indeed, the building in question [10897 Main] is almost certainly Asa Ransom’s tavern…. Conlin theorizes that the building was moved from the Asa Ransom site to its current location on Main Street in Clarence.
[Wade Senta, Lynda, “Discovery Adds to History”, The Clarence Bee, March 5, 1997, 1, 32 (quoting historian John H. Conlin).]
In addition, Clinton Brown Company Architecture, in its 2007 Landmark Designation for 10897 Main submitted to the Town of Clarence, also agreed that 10897 Main was very likely Ransom’s tavern (emphasis added):
In 1799, Joseph Ellicott offered lots on old Buffalo Road to those who would build and operate taverns and inns upon them, seeing such establishments as a necessary precursor to further habitation. Buffalo Road was at that time a major portage road running roughly along the course of present-day Main Street that linked the outlying area with Lake Erie and the young trading-port community there. The lots, as logically arranged by Ellicott, were spaced ten miles apart along the thoroughfare and were sold at the company's lowest price of $2 dollars per acre on a long-term, no interest basis. Taking advantage of this offer, Asa Ransom, a young silversmith from Geneva, New York, established the earliest settlement in Clarence territory this same year at what is now Clarence Hollow. Though it was likely only the Ransom family there at this time, this is noted as the first permanent settlement in the area. Based on the findings of historian John Conlin, the building at 10897 Main Street is believed to be the original Asa Ransom Tavern.
In 1801, Joseph Ellicott arrived in the territory, probably boarding at Ransom's tavern, and opened a land office. The first land purchases from the Holland Land Company in the Clarence area were transacted later that year. Between then and 1808, the initial settlement in Clarence territory gradually grew in both size and population. Asa Ransom established a sawmill late in 1801 on the banks of the stream that flows through the Hollow and now bears his name (Ransom Creek). He later expanded his operation, building a grist mill in 1803. The constructions of both outfits were important events in the improvement and progression of the nascent settlement and of great benefit to the early pioneers. Ransom's sawmill allowed for the use of milled lumber and the associated building techniques.
***
Constructed around 1800, the 2-story, side-gabled building at 10897 Main Street is an authentic New England Colonial saltbox. It is considered one of three two-story log homes in Erie County and one of two in Clarence, the other constructed in Pennsylvania German style. It is the only two-story New England Style log home in Erie County, built of hewn logs measuring forty-six feet in length. Its exterior architectural features are characterized by its central entrance, symmetrical facade with regular fenestration, wood clapboard sheathing over dove-tail log wall construction, and brick chimneys at gabled ends. Its interior of 3,100 square feet houses five bedrooms, once used by boarders when the house was run as a tavern.
[Clinton Brown Company Architecture, “Designation of Landmarks: 10897 Main Street”, December 3, 2007, 20-21.]
Lastly, Richard Figiel, in his 2024 book, The Great Genesee Road: Traveling through Time on New York State's Historic Route 5, also stated that the subject structure is Ransom’s tavern (emphasis added):
[T]he older inn [Ransom’s tavern] was jacked up and moved a quarter-mile east, to a lot above where the road begins its descent into the hollow. There the original sits today [at 10897 Main]: a large, white, New England-style saltbox, now a private home. The reason for the move is unclear. It must have been quite a spectacle to watch horses or oxen pull this big house through the village and up the hill.
*1880 Map of Clarence Hollow (F.W. Beers) showing Ransom Settlement with approximate original location of Ransom’s tavern (red square) on the west fork of Ransom Creek and the present location of the subject structure (red circle).
MISCELLANEOUS:
*Photo of Ransom Tavern from 1914. 
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