Lemon House Dining Room

Lemon House Dining Room

NPS

Quick Facts

Amenities

1 listed

Wheelchair Accessible

Hunger would have been hard at work on the travelers as they finally reached the Summit on the Portage Railroad. The Lemon House would have been a welcome sight indeed. Many transportation companies scheduled their meal breaks at the Lemon House, and even in the cases of those that didn’t, there was ample time to stop in for a bite because of the delay caused by Incline 6. The fare wouldn’t have been fancy, usually some sort of stew, because it could be kept warm all day waiting for the next group of travelers to come through the door. There was no menu or special orders. Everybody at the same thing. This was the fast food of the 1830s and 40s. And it was all you can eat for 25 cents. Before you say what a bargain that was, remember that most workers of the time only earned about 50 cents a day. Notice other similarities to the modern fast food establishments—the hard seating surfaces so you don’t stay too long, the easily wiped tables-no table cloths here, and the flooring that allowed spills and muddy footprints to be easily cleaned up. Not all that different from today when you think about it.