The above portrait paintings of Lovisa and Elias Dewey of Champlain Town are now on display at the museum.

The Dewey’s settled Champlain in 1797 only nine years after the first settlements by the original grant holders. Elias built a log cabin that is still standing today and in 1800 built a frame house that became the “Elias Dewey Inn” shortly afterwards. His house was less than two miles from Canada on the main road between Albany and Montreal and served countless travelers. During the War of 1812, American and British forces camped in the fields around the tavern. Two of the four prisoner of war treaties signed during the war were signed here. Many skirmishes with the American militia also took place around the tavern. The Dewey Family Cemetery across the road from the tavern contains the remains of American and British soldiers as well as some of the Dewey family. The Dewey’s were farmers and lived on the property until the 1880s. Today, “Dewey’s Tavern” is one of the most historic houses in all of Clinton County.