by Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, June 17, 2022.
Charles and Eliza Hervey had a knack for cooking. They arrived in Exeter shortly after their 1836 wedding in Salisbury, Massachusetts. The location of their first restaurant in town is unknown, but by 1845, they were running a saloon and confectionary shop on Front Street next to the Squamscott Hotel. The Herveys are credited with being the first to sell ice cream in town, although this may simply be a local legend. Certainly, Ernest Templeton, writing under the moniker, “Rockingham Rambles,” gave them credit, writing in 1943: “In the Brooks house 100 years ago Mrs. Eliza Hervey established a restaurant and became the first person to sell ice cream in Exeter. At that time a few of the town’s exclusive hostesses had endeavored to make their own ice cream, getting the ice from the Adams icehouse in the rear of what is now the Kennedy house on Center Street, and mixing it with lemon and cream, but compared with the modern product it was a sorry article.”
During these early years, Eliza’s life was busy with both the business and her growing family. On the afternoon of June 20th, 1850, a wild thunderstorm rolled through town. Lightening struck the nearby Railroad House tavern and fire quickly tore through the buildings, taking the Hervey’s little shop with it. There was some insurance money, but the loss of his business must have been a hard blow for Charles. He packed up and moved west, first in Iowa and later settling in Illinois. Eliza stayed in Exeter with her two boys, Frank and Louis.
The couple never divorced, but Charles continued to live away from the family. Eliza set up a new business in one of the rental spaces on the ground floor of the Methodist Church. Frank worked with her and bought half interest in the restaurant in 1858, when he turned twenty. The Civil War interrupted his career, but not exactly his vocation. He served in the 2nd NH Regiment, Company E as quartermaster – ordering and issuing supplies to the troops. When he returned, his mother was ready for a slightly new career. Phillips Exeter Academy needed boarding houses for their students, and Eliza purchased a place on Court Street as a retirement investment. There, she rented rooms and prepared meals for students. She sold her restaurant business to Frank.
Frank moved the restaurant and catering business to the newly erected Carlisle Block on Water Street and installed a billiard hall and gymnasium to cater to the Academy students. At that time, the school did not have a gym and students were more than willing to accept Frank Hervey’s offer of “$5.00 a quarter, reduced rates by the year.” Hervey’s billiard hall was considered a ‘safe’ place for the boys – it kept them away from the off-limits billiard rooms elsewhere in town that had some pretty rough townies. A letter published in the Exonian in 1881, had some suggestions for pricing. “It seems to us that the billiard room at Mr. Harvey’s would give more satisfaction to its patrons among the students, if some system of charging were adopted, either by the game or by the hour.” The current fee was sixty cents per hour.
Hervey’s restaurant was the site for many Academy celebrations, as in 1885, after Exeter won the annual football match over Andover. The team was rewarded with a hefty dinner at Hervey’s. “The speeches and toasting were kept up till eleven o’clock, when the party assembled in front of the restaurant, and, after cheering Mr. Hervey, departed for home, each one betaking himself to his room with that feeling of contentment which usually attends upon a good supper.”
Hervey’s was still famous for its ice cream. Cram & Anderson Drug store boasted, in 1885, that “having contracted for three hundred gallons of Hervey’s famous ice cream, we shall endeavor to dispense the best possible ice cream soda.”
Not only did Frank Hervey provide the menu items, sometimes he participated in events. At the Drama Club banquet in 1887, not only did the boys belly up to tables “heavily laden with fruits, cakes, and all sorts of delicacies” but “before the second course had be brought on, the Troubadours had played their ‘Tycoon Medley’ and the Minstrels had sung the whole overture. Then followed more delicious viands and more songs, speeches and stories and more music from the Troubadours until at last the little cups of black coffee were brought on.” “Mr. Hervey then told several very humorous stories, and after the long cheer had been given for the generous host, the Club adjourned.” He was clearly a favorite of the students.
The gym was no longer needed by 1890 – the Academy having provided better facilities. Frank Hervey continued to run his restaurant and bakery. He made decorating improvements that the Exeter News-Letter heaped with praise. “Walls are papered in light blue, with wide and handsome frieze of tasteful design. The ceiling is done in a light and elegant paper relieved by moldings and skirtings in café-au-lait. The room could hardly be made to present a more attractive aspect.” But it was also clear that Hervey was scaling back his business. No catering is mentioned, and he was taking in boarders in the upstairs rooms. “The new departure will in no wise interfere with present features of the business,” reassured the News-Letter.
Frank’s mother, Eliza, died in 1897. His business declined and everything, the furnishings, fixtures, tools, cooking utensils and dishes were sold at auction in February of 1899. Frank left for Rhode Island but was back in New Hampshire shortly after that living in the Soldier’s home in Concord. His health had declined, and he died several years later.
But the name “Hervey’s” still had some weight in town. Frank’s son, Charles, opened a new Hervey’s in 1904. Short-lived but well loved, the business continued the family’s tradition. The Herveys had a long run – nearly 70 years of serving hungry Exeter residents.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Photo: For several decades, Frank Hervey’s restaurant also included a gymnasium and billiard hall catering to Phillips Exeter Academy students. At the time, it was located in the Carlisle Block on Water Street.