LENAWEE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. 
James Fenimore Cooper Visits Lenawee County Lenawee Hosts Great American Author By Ray Lennard (Board Member of LCHS and Curator of Thompson House Museum) Lenawee County has a rich and interesting history. While looking through a pile of clippings about the history of Lenawee County, I was surprised to learn that in 1847, one of the greatest American authors vacationed in Lenawee County. Walker Tavern was the summer resort for James Fenimore Cooper and his family from June through September of 1847. In June of 1847, Mr. Cooper and his party arrived in Detroit, Michigan after crossing Lake Erie in the Buffalo boat. Traveling with his wife, two daughters, two servants and two Indian guides, the party boarded a stagecoach bound for the inn of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Walker. The journey of some 64 miles took nearly three days, as the party brought plenty of baggage with them. Occupying nearly half of the second floor of the Tavern, the Cooper family traveled throughout Southern Michigan. During one of his own outings, James Fenimore Cooper made it as far west as Kalamazoo. The purpose of the trip to Michigan was primarily business, as Mr. Cooper was researching information for his newest novel “The Oak Openings”. It is said that several of the characters in this tale are based on Cooper’s talks with locals while he researched the area. While the tale would be finished when the Cooper family returned to their homestead in New York, many of the notes and research were organized in the “great room” at the southwest corner of the second floor of the Tavern. Next time you are on a Sunday drive in Lenawee County, consider driving by the Walker Tavern site! Return To The Museum |
Lenawee Historical Museum Web Page by: Charles Paul Keller Crpmiz@aol.com http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~keller/museum/work/cooper.html December 2, 2006
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