In this vintage snapshot taken by Woodstock resident Billy Beasley sometime in 1955, we see young artist E.J. Gold posing on the road into Rock, at about the site occupied by William Snyder's Tavern, built in 1789-90. In 1825, Andrew Newkirk bought the Tavern, now operating as an inn, from its second owner, Stephen Deforest, after which it was called the Newkirk & Deforest Hotel.

The Tavern on the Green entered its prime under George William Snyder, who stayed on as director of the newly-renamed Brinkerhoff House, purchased from him by William Brinkerhoff just after the American Civil War.

It was visited, briefly -- long enough to exchange horses on his carriage for the trip to Mount Overlook -- by former President Ulysses S. Grant; another distinguished visitor to the hotel on this site was Chester A. Arthur, and yet another was General George Sharpe, 120th NY Regiment Commander, who fought bravely in the American Civil War.

It is reported that five men from Woodstock fought in that campaign. General Sharpe spent many weekends on his beloved Mount Overlook.

The tavern was originally on the Northwest corner of this crossroad, and had a full bar, box stove and wooden bench along the south wall. A ballroom or dancehall was just off to the east side of this structure.

Stagecoaches used to bring tourists for day excursions to Mount Overlook and they rode through here, stopping at Wolven's store at Shultis' Corner for "turnpike pancakes" made of Indian cornmeal with hop tea for leavening. At this time, Overlook was operated by John E. Lasher, but when Overlook House burned, its register was taken to Meads.

Farther down, about midway along Tinker Street, the Elwyn Tavern, run by the Elwyns, who had come from Wales about 1789, who had sold their ship -- owned by Captain John M. Elwyn -- in which they'd come to the New World, in order to finance their tavern, which flourished in a large building, later converted into apartments with a beauty parlor below.

Captain Elwyn was a journeyman carpenter, wagonmaker and blacksmith who first settled in Saugerties, but then moved to the village of Woodstock, where the town board issued him a tavern license in the summer of 1812. His home was later occupied by Town Supervisor Joseph Fitzsimmons.

Elwyn was a fervent Methodist; in order to preserve his religious dignity, he put the tavern in his wife's name.

One of John's sons, Peter, operated a farm which later became known as the Hasbrouck Farm. Another son, Alexander, became the tavern keeper after his father's death; it was under the direction of his son Sam, that the tavern finally ran into the ground, revived years later by Alexander's great-great grandson Allen Dean Elwyn, who renamed the tavern and gave Woodstock its most famous eatery for over half a century, the world-renowned "Deanies" which served fresh trout right out of the stream in back!

Many artists, musicians, writers and entertainers as well as a constant stream of tourists favored the restaurant and its glamorous and well-prepared fresh country cuisine; the eatery was still in existence well into the 1980's.