Hey diddle diddle

Last year The Intelligencer published a book called Postcards from Bucks County. We put out a call for submissions, which had a wonderful response. I spent hours looking through hundreds of gorgeous postcards from all over the county, some from the turn of last century or before. It was such a blast.

We ended up choosing about 200 cards to publish, and then about four of us sat down to research and write captions — a total crash course in Bucks County history.

A lot of the cards were simple to understand (most of them had a line or two that described the images) but there were a few that left us utterly stumped.

The one I remember most was a simple photo of a white cat sitting next to a violin (you can check it out in the images up top). The back, I believe, read "Cat & Fiddle Inn, Point Pleasant, Pa." I live pretty close to Point Pleasant and spend quite a lot of time there talking to the old-timers, but I'd never heard of it.

I wasn't able to find out much, which was really frustrating, since I tend to research stuff to the point of exhaustion. I knew from the postcard that the Inn had been "two miles above Point Pleasant," but that was a little too vague. An elderly woman I talked with tried to explain to me where the Inn had been, but I had trouble understanding her. There were tidbits of information online, but I wanted to see the place in real life. It was so dissatisfying.

Then, since not knowing was torture, I just sort of made myself forget about it.

Then, last week, Carol Norwood came to the rescue once again. I should have known.

Rayna,
I just found these photos of the Cat and Fiddle. I'm almost certain that it was a joint along River Road, maybe somewhere near Lumberville. I think these pictures are from the 1930s or 1940s.
As a young child, I remember going for a Sunday drive with my parents. One of the things that my sisters and I always looked for was the coffee pot on the chimney of this building! By that time, in the early 1960s, the Cat and Fiddle's hey day was probably over.
Do you know anything about it?
Carol

I'd love to hear more about the place. Know any good stories?

UPDATE: I found a great YouTube video with a (slightly blurry) view of the Cat & Fiddle. An unidentified woman explains that the Inn was between locks 15 and 16 on the Delaware canal, where a waterwheel generated its electricity . She also mentions that the Inn's owner was an ex-circus performer!

Check it out:



Tantalizing, right?