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Spier
Spencer Room
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BRASS BED
QUILT Dresden Plate
CHEST Tiger Maple
LADDER BACK CHAIRS
PICTURE on west wall is of Cedar Farm at Laconia, Indiana. The artist is Gladys Moore.
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Spier Spencer came from Kentucky to Vincennes, Indiana then on to Corydon in 1809. He was married in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1763 to Elizabeth Polk, daughter of Capt. Charles Polk a well-known Indian fighter. Spencer was appointed by Governor William Henry Harrison to be the first sheriff of Harrison County. He served in that office from 1809 until his death in 1811.
Spier Spencer and his wife operated a hotel in their large log house on Oak Street called "The Green Leaf Tavern." General William Henry Harrison and Lt. Governor Ratliffe Boone stayed with the Spencers when they came on official business.
Spencer also organized the Harrison County County Militia called the "Yellow Jackets" for the campaign against the Indians which ended with the Battle of Tippecanoe on Novermber 7, 1811. Captain Spencer was seriously wounded during the battle and as he was being carried from the field a second shot ended his life. Spencer's riderless horse and sword were brought back from Tippecanoe and were returned to his widow.
Following her husband's death, Elizabeth Spencer continued operating The Green Leaf Tavern. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1806 stayed at the inn. It was a popular meeting place for legislators and it was often said that more laws were enacted within the walls of the tavern than were enacted within the state house. Records indicate the widow Spencer was paid for candles used by the legislators during their lengthy sessions.
Elizabeth Spencer later married William Boone. They continued the tavern business as the "Billy Boone Tavern." The couple divorced in August or September of 1829.
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