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Log house becomes 18th-century ‘tavern’ in Washington Historical Society event celebrates Twelth Night

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A cozy fire burned in a fireplace while guests recreated a late-18th century tavern scene Saturday in a log house in Washington Park.

They were toasting over a lemony dessert named syllabub, Indian pudding and hunter’s stew to celebrate with Washington County Historical Society the coming of Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, at the Hughes House.

“We have all of these assets that haven’t been used,” said Clay Kilgore, the society’s executive director.

“We’re trying to make sure people know what we have, that we do have events at the Hughes House,” Kilgore said.

The house that once stood on North Main Street in Washington was buried under a modern layer of exterior siding that disguised its historic value when it was scheduled for demolition in the 1960s, Kilgore said.

City leaders opted to relocate the house to the park after a demolition crew discovered it was built from logs in the late 18th century.

Today, the historical society maintains the house under a long-term lease with the city that also includes the care of a nearby, recreated frontier fort.

The tavern event was part of efforts of the society to create a Friends of the Washington Historical Society group to plan and hold events that will be free to the public.

One of the desserts on the bar was drawn from President James Monroe’s syllabub recipe. His would have been made from fresh heavy cream from the farm, sherry, honey and lemon juice, Kilgore said, adding the ingredients were hand-whipped and then left in a glass to separate the alcohol from the whipped cream.

“Many of the things that you would have seen out here at this time were citruses that traveled well,” said Bryan Cunning, a society volunteer at the celebration.

The hunter’s stew would have been made from whatever ingredients the tavern had at the time, added volunteer Joe Piszczor.

The moist Indian pudding was made in the late 1700s with corn meal, molasses, cinnamon and cloves and it took a long time to bake, Kilgore said.

He said the society is planning next to host a dinner in the log house where each course will arrive with a different period drink.

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