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Bell's Tavern
I-65, exit 48 - 270-651-3161
From I-65, take exit 48 to Park City. The Tavern is located on Hwy. 255 across the railroad tracks.
Built in 1830 by William Bell, Bell's Tavern served as a stagecoach stop that brought visitors to Mammoth Cave when first open. The inn and tavern was famous in the United States and Europe for elite patrons, cuisine and a special drink of peach and honey brandy for "Joy before the journey's end." The tavern burned in 1860 and reconstruction by Bell's grandson, William F. Bell and stepfather, George M. Proctor, was halted due to the Civil War. William Bell, his son Robert Slaughter Bell, and daughter-in-law Maria Gorin Bell operated the successful Bell's Tavern. After Robert's death, Maria married prominent local farmer George Procter. In addition to running Bell's Tavern, George became the proprietor of Diamond Caverns in 1859. At the same time, his brother, Larkin Procter, managed the Mammoth Cave Hotel, and also owned the stage line that ran to Bell's Tavern, Diamond Caverns, and Mammoth Cave.
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