walker tavern

This site is a relatively interesting place to visit but there is not a lot to it. It is part of the Michigan State Park System located in the Cambridge State Historic Park. The location at the corner of US 12 and MI 50 is easy to find. The park requires the Michigan Recreation Passport (cost $11) in order to park on-site (this allows entrance and parking for all MI State parks). The Visitor Center, a partially-restored house that was built by the most recent owner of the property before it was turned over to the state, had a few interesting exhibits that described the owners of the property after the Walkers. The Tavern is a couple hundred yards across open green space from the Visitor Center and includes a period barn. On the day I visited, there was a guided tour which lasted about 20 or 25 minutes. The guide gave a good description of the barn and property along with the history of the Walker family and the Tavern during its days of operation. There were also several placards on display throughout both the barn and the tavern describing aspects of interest to the visitor. The Tavern was originally a farmhouse built in the early 1830s and purchased by Sylvester and Lucy Walker in 1843. They turned it into a Tavern to take advantage of the traffic on US 12, which was the main road between Detroit and Chicago. The tavern apparently turned out to be quite popular as the tour and placards will suggest. The popularity was so great that the Walkers built a new, larger brick Tavern across Route 12 from the original structure and used the latter as their home thereafter. The tavern was sold by Lucy Walker after her husband's death in 1865 to Francis Dewey. Dewey was a stagecoach driver who frequented the Tavern. After Dewey's death, the place was sold to Reverend Frederick and Edna Hewitt who turned it into an antique shop and museum. Hewitt was a friend of Henry Ford who visited the Tavern twice. The property was passed to the Hewitt's children with their daughter inheriting the original house and their son the brick tavern. The Hewitt's daughter deeded the original frame structure to the state. The brick tavern remained with the Hewitt's son and is still owned by a descendant, who is reportedly turning it into a B&B. After the visit to the Tavern, I went to the cemetery down the road at St. Michael's and All Saints Episcopal Church to see the Walker's graves. Overall, it was an interesting visit but there was only so much on display. It did not require a lot of time to see everything. Apparently, there are special events that take place on site including a Farmer's Market most Sundays during the season the park is open. This might be a good place to stop if you are passing through but I would not go out of the way to see this attraction.