Dowden's Ordinary: The Elephant Comes to Clarksburg

Dowden's Ordinary: The Elephant Comes to Clarksburg. . "This elephant, a female, is ten Years old, 8 feet 6 inches high. Her tusks have been broken off, but are growing again, having lengthened about an inch in the last 3 Months. . . . She takes a whip and cracks it, eats 2 Bushels of corn in [sic] the Cob a day . . . . She draws a cork from a bottle with her finger, empties it into her trunk and then pours, or blows into her mouth." , - Benjamin H. Latrobe, 1811- , Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the US Capitol made this entry in his sketchbook for October 11, 1811 during his stay at Scholl's Tavern (previously called Dowden's Ordinary). The description accompanied his drawing of the first elephant ever seen in North America. Capt. Jacob Crowninshield of Massachusetts, purchased the elephant in India for $450.00 and brought to the United States. He later sold it to Mr. Owen of New York for $10,000. The elephant toured the east coast from Boston to Charleston between 1796 and 1818. People paid 25 to 50 cents to view the elephant in city marketplaces or rural tavern yards like Scholl's. The elephant's last recorded exhibition was in York, Pennsylvania on July 25, 1818.