Button Family in America

In 1823, halfway between Barcelona Inn on Lake Erie and Mayville, the famous Button’s Inn was built. Throughout a period of almost 20 years, the Inn gained the reputation as a prosperous tavern through which many travelers passed. The Inn was located on a hill on S. Portage St., appropriately entitled "Button’s Hill." In good weather, an excellent view of Lake Erie was available for about five miles in either direction. The Inn welcomed many sailors whose boats had docked at nearby "Portland Harbor," now known as Barcelona. The Inn was built on land purchased from the Holland Land company by Moses Chapman. He paid $2900 for about 102 acres of land. Later, Chapman sold the property to Rufus Button in December of 1842. Afterwards, it became the property of his son who ran the Inn until 1845. Ira Button was the keeper of the Inn. It was built with the second story overhanging the first, with front porches on both levels. The upper porch was high enough so that one could view the countryside scenery for miles around. The Inn was an important part of the community. The Town Board held their meetings at the Tavern, and school children sometimes met there for class. Preachers also spoke at the Inn. The Inn was also the scene of Albion Winegar Tourgee’s novel, "Button’s Inn." Mr. Tourgee of Mayville, was a writer of fiction, and centered his novel around a beautiful young maiden in the Button family who becomes the heroine of his novel. Button’s Inn existed in the time of stagecoaches and sailing ships, shortly before the railroad came into existence. As such, it was the social center for the community for the first and second generations of its existence. There was an immense ball room off the second floor porch, and it was here that many of the dancing parties took place. Access to the Inn, however, was on unpaved roads, and often it presented many problems. The history of the Inn tells of a true episode in which a groom and bride were traveling up to the Tavern in the spring. There were many holes in the road, and their wagon wheel fell into one of them. The husband got out and tried to steer the horse out, but the horse broke the harness and ran off, and his bride fell off the wagon and into the mud hole. After Ira Button died in 1845, the Inn still continued. It was kept in the family until 1932 when Dr. Arthur Cobb of Buffalo bought the property. By the 1880’s the Tavern had begun to fall apart, and later many of the boards on the house were carried off. Today, nothing remains to mark the place where the Button’s Inn once stood, although marks from the foundation can be found if one knows where to look. The prosperous and flourishing days of an old-time Inn have passed into history, but have left many memories behind. (Submitted by Loraine Smith, Ellery Historian )