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Researched by John Sutton, Park Technician Eating houses for railroad passengers had, by 1869, been
around a long time. The first of these "Refreshment Saloons"
was established along eastern lines in the 1840's: With such humble beginnings, snack-stands as those
mentioned above, evolved into spacious cafeterias offering a
large selection of foods, as one encountered at Sydney,
Nebraska in 1882: Most of the stops, however, were rather short, perhaps ten, twenty, or maybe thirty minutes. 3 Therefore, the passengers had to rush for a bite to eat, ascending like a cloud of locusts on the poor cook. Some unscrupulous managers would take advantage of the situation and would demand cash in advance, and then be slow in delivering the goods, with the customer leaving hungry and angry. Other times, the foods would be served so hot, the person could not eat it, with the same results. Many passengers felt that their uneaten food was resold to those on the next train through. Timing for meal stops varied from only an hour apart to eight or ten hours apart, so many travelers felt they had to eat at ever chance. 4 Improvements were short in coming. The conductors on trains would take a count of those wishing refreshments, then at a stop before the meal stop, would telegraph ahead to alert the cooks. "News Butchers", were boys selling magazines and newspapers, included candy, bread, butter, fruits, and local vegetables in their wares. Dining cars in 1869 were virtually unknown. They made their first real appearances in 1871, and were generally used for first-class traffic only. 5 Sleeping cars were also rare, again used only on first-class and special trains. First-class passengers had to pay $1.00 to $4.00 per day extra. 6 These cars, generally manufactured by Pullman, had either reclining upholster seats, or hinged berths above the seats. 7 Railroad passengers travel one hundred years ago was still quite primitive. Most travelers had to make do with crude sleeping arrangements, and for years the railroad relied on concessionaires to provide nourishment to their passengers. 1. Reinhardt, Workin' on the Railroad, from A Diary in America, by Capt. Frederick Marryat, Philadelphia, 1840, p. 263. 2. Reinhardt, op. cit., from Through America, by W. G. Marshall, London, 1882, p. 265-6 3. Reinhardt, op. cit., p. 266 4. Ibid. 5. White, The American Railroad Passenger Car, p. 312. 6. White, op. cit., 257 7. Time-Life, The Railroaders, p. 135.
"Hell on Wheel" towns were noted for their saloons, gambling-hells, and whore houses. In addition to these "illegitimate businesses"' were shops, stores, laundry's, attorney offices, newspaper offices, bakeries, restaurants, and boarding houses. Men could drink and gamble, but they still need clothing, food and a place to sleep. Eating/boarding houses were an important part of these railroad towns. They existed to serve the worker and the railroad traveler. Henry M. Stanley details the fare in Julesburg, Colorado in 1867: "The upper-tendom of sinful Julesburg dine at the Julesburg House, selecting from a menu of soups, fricandeus, [stewed veal with its own gravy] vegetables, game in abundance, pies, puddings, raisins, apples, nuts, wines, and bread at discretion for moderate sum of twelve bits." 1 Such a feast would be certainly welcomed by workmen used to stewed buffalo or beef, potatoes, bread and coffee. 2 On the other hand, travelers stuck by a snowstorm at Wasatch, Utah, did not have it so well at the establishment they encountered: "... paying three dollars per day for board, two dollars per night for lodging, and one dollar per day for the privilege of sitting in the sleeping car. At some places a dollar is charged for the privilege of sleeping on the floor or table. Provisions are scarce; a cup of coffee, a biscuit and a small piece of poor meat, costing a dollar, and difficult to get at that ..." 3 Costs, quality and quantity of food and lodgings were naturally variable along the line. But, at a sizable town, one could expect to find reasonable prices. In 1869, at Corinne, Utah several tents advertised: "Meals--50 cts." on their signboards. 4 Cashing in on the passenger traffic, more than food and lodging was available at Laramie: "... The big-game heads, the agates, opals and mountain amethysts and rubies heaped in the show-case of the station eating house were the feeblest of the lures of the incoming tourists." 5 The restaurant/boarding house was an
institution at the more prominent stops along the line.
Indeed, there was at least one such establishment in
operation at Promontory, on that eventful day, May 10, 1869.
6
2. Giswold, A Work of Giants, P. 120, 167. 3. Deseret News, Salt Lake City, March 17, 1869. 4. Combes, Westward to Promontory, p. 61. 5. Sabin, op. cit., p. 263. 6. Mayer and Vose, Makin' Tracks,
Photo of "Restaurant", p. 186-7
"...A few who have located eating houses and saloons here, predict that...Promontory would be a very good site for a town were it not for the absence of water..." 1 At Promontory Summit, boarding houses and restaurants were present on May 10, 1869. Mary Gamble, traveling from California to the east, writes of a night spent at such a place: "I do not remember how long it took us to reach Promontory, the place of the meeting of the rails, but our arrival there is very vivid to me still. The time of day was about five in the evening, in a terrific down pour of rain, with thunder and lightning. We were hustled into a big canvas covered wagon which was to carry us across to the other train, supposed to be standing waiting. The train, however had not arrived; and why we were not returned to our comfortable warm berths I do not know. Possibly the storm interfered. We were deposited in an immense circular tent. It contained a pile of mattresses, a trundle bed, and a tiny old-fashioned wash stand, which must have been used by the workmen. We younger people were thrilled over the preparations for the night. A mattress was spread on the trundle bed, chairs and boxes being ranged along side, and we five children (our clothes still on) were placed in a row upon it and covered with traveling rugs; but my father and the superintendent had to patrol all night to protect us from the stray gun shots of Irish laborers, celebrating the completion of their work with firearms as well as drinks. Maybe the Chinese in the western camp were using firecrackers for the same purpose, although it was a rainy, blustery night. The celebration, which had been scheduled for the next day, May seventh, had to be postponed until Monday, because of the storm and the delay of the train from the East. These days were spent in Salt Lake City." 2 Englishman William Fraser Rae visited Promontory station later in 1869 and found a small tent town at the terminus site: "In general the passengers have to change carriages, secure fresh sleeping berths, and get their luggage moved from one train to the other. Two hours are allowed for this, as well as for taking a meal. There is ample time to stroll through the town and see the sights..." 3 Rae also mentions the difficulty in securing through connections, due to the lack of co-operation of the companies. By September, 1869, a frame station and eating house had been constructed south of the main line opposite main street. And, by one year after the completion of the rails, the terminus had been moved to Ogden, thus ending the colorful, if short transfer life at Promontory. 4 1. Daily Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, May 13, 1869. 2. Gamble, To Europe via Promontory in 1869, From the Recollections James Gamble's Daughter, Many, GOSP Notes Vol. II, p. 237. Rae, Westward by Rail, p. 184-5. Ketterson, Historical Base Map, 1869, GOSP, Plate 19: no. 5. As with restaurants today, food service then varied in quantity and quality. The two accounts mentioned in the historical narrative reflect this point. The diners at Julesburg could choose from a feast of delicacies, while those at lowly Wasatch were hard pressed to find a decent meal.1 At Promontory, the likelihood of an "average" of quality, quantity, and price is very good. Just down the road at Corinne were "Meals, 50 cents." But, what kind of meals were offered to these travelers? The answer, like many others about Promontory, 1869, is difficult to pinpoint. Generalizations can be made, however, on what was commonplace at the time. FOOD A look into historical cookbooks provide detail into what kinds of "cafeteria foods" were available. Breads: Most yeasts in 1869 had to be homemade. Packaged yeasts were available, but not popularly used. Yeast preparation was done by boiling hops and potatoes together, pouring the water over flour, and then adding sugar and salt to the mixture. This liquid potato yeast "starter" is one popular form of yeast, but was tricky, and when it soured, a new batch had to be made.3 Another form of bread starter was "sourdough." In this case, a starter was kept in a container and added to from time to time.4 Sourdough was handy for the prospector or chuckwagon, but dubious at a restaurant, where the freshest of breads was necessary. Bread was produced in a lengthy process, sometimes requiring preparation of the dough one day and baking the next. Generally, people baked bread once a week, for the week.5 The bread which might have been baked in a temporary restaurant, such as was at Promontory, would probably be of a simple recipe: basically yeast, flour, water, milk, sugar, and lard.6 Four steps were needed in baking bread: sponge, dough, proofing, and baking. Sponge is a mixture of the yeast and about one-half of the flour and water. It is mixed together until the consistency of a paste is achieved, then allowed to "work" for a period of time to activate the yeast. Dough was made by adding the rest of the ingredients and mixing all together well. Kneading the dough thoroughly increased the quantity of the product. When allowed to rise again, the dough was molded into loaves and placed in large, greased baking pans, several loaves to the pan. They were then "proofed" in the pan for one last rise. Finally, the bread was baked in an oven at about 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes a piece of paper was placed over the bread to prevent them from browning too fast. The bread was probably cut and placed upon platters to be served to the customer. Biscuits/Cornbread/Muffins: Biscuits are a viable side-dish to any meal and are easy to fix. The main ingredients are flour, water, milk, or condensed milk ("sweet milk"), salt, soda, and/or baking powder. They can also be made with buttermilk or sourdough. Basically, the dough was made of the required ingredients and baked. Cornbread is made from corn meal, baking soda, salt, and milk or buttermilk and baked in a square or round greased pan. Eggs were often added to improve the formula.8 Muffins were very similar to biscuits and made with similar ingredients but baked in special pans. Main Dishes, Stews: Stew, "Slumgullion" stew, "S.O.B." stew, or "Slum" was an easy meal to fix for a large clientele. Generally made from beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions with enough water to make broth, stew could also be made from game, if available. Meat Pies: A variety of stews or stew ingredients were baked in a covered pan until well simmered, then topped with pie crust and baked again until done.9 Dumplings were added to stews or soups. They were made of flour, eggs, salt, and butter mixed and rolled into little balls.10 Roasted Beef or Game: Meat was roasted in an oven and the meat basted with its juice to keep it from drying. Vegetables were often placed in the pan and flavored by the juice. Corned Beef and Cabbage: Corned beef and quartered cabbage heads were boiled until tender and served together. Mustard sauce was often used on the beef. Rice Dishes: A dish of rice and bacon was made with fried bacon, rice, onions with tomato sauce (puree). It could also be made with eggs and onions.11 Gravy: Commonly made from meat drippings, water and flour, simmered until thickened and not lumpy. Desserts: Pudding: Rather than instant pudding which is common today, puddings one hundred years ago had to be cooked several hours in some cases. Many different fruit flavors were made into puddings. Pies: Again, many different historical pie dessert recipes were used. Beverages: Coffee: The staple beverage of almost all frontier meals was a cup of coffee. Beans were roasted if green, ground in a mill, tied in a cheesecloth and suspended in boiling water. Or ground beans were simply put into the boiling water. When done, cold water was poured into the pot to settle the grounds. Tea: Tea was made in a similar manner as coffee. Summary The aforementioned foods are taken from recipe books of the 1800's. These are typical dishes which could be served to large groups fairly easily, given the supplies. It is very likely that the foods served at Promontory were simple such as stews, roasted meats, breads, and beverages. When a person wanted a meal, it was likely that he was given what ever happened to be cooked that day. 1. Sutton, Restaurant/Boarding House Historical Background Study, GOSP Files, p. 1. 2. Ibid, p. 2 3. Grierson, An Army Wife's Cookbook, p. 10. 4. Utah State University Extension, Old West Heritage Recipes, p. 90; Holm, The Complete Sourdough Cookbook, p. 31. 5. Grierson, op. cit. 6. Grierson, op. cit., p. 12; USU Extension; op. cit., p. 86; Vaughn, The Old Cook's Almanac, p. 38. 7. See above citations. 8. Vaughn, op. cit., p.3. 9. Ibid., p. 133. 10. USU Extension, op. cit., p. 8. 11. Ibid., p. 9-10. 12. Ibid., p. 9-10. |
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