Jerusha, the “Belle,” was the talk of the town, remembered well after her death. Writers even romanticized her memory. For example, in 1880, Adeline Lunt wrote an article for “Harper’s New Monthly Magazine” which describes Jerusha as sensible, refined and possessing rare domestic qualities. Lunt further characterized her, “With devoted parents and brothers who worshipped her as if she were a creature almost ‘too bright and good for human nature’s daily food,’ she was the very queen of the mansion” (Lunt, “The Red Horse Tavern”).

Just a few years later, in 1894, another article appeared in “New England Magazine” providing an even more vivid image of Jerusha:

“Miss Jerusha Howe, the eldest sister of the Landlord, and years his senior, was ever cherished by the doughty Squire with peculiar tenderness, and her death, which occurred some twenty years before his own, remained a lasting sorrow. Fascinating stories are told of the fragile Miss Jerusha’s beauty and her gentle manner. The old spinet of the inn parlor, the first musical instrument of its kind to appear in the town of Sudbury, was purchased for Miss Jerusha, who used to play upon it ‘The Battle of Prague’ and ‘Copenhagen Waltz.’ She used to sing, too, in a thin and decorous voice, the sweet strains of ‘Highland Mary,’ so fashionable in that day. She had a chronicler’s fondness for statistics, and maintained an unyielding hold on the names and dates and events connected with her nearer lineage. The family record, as preserved by Miss Jerusha, held a place of undisputed authority among her kindred.”

Mrs. C. Van D. Chenoweth,

May 1894, New England Magazine,

“The Landlord of The Wayside Inn.”

Below: A snippet from a Boston Daily Advertiser article (August 26, 1880) advertising Adeline Lunt's article in Harper's Monthly Magazine. How's Tavern was often called the Red Horse Tavern because of the image of the red horse on the sign hanging outside near the entrance. Inns often used a mascot animal or mythical creature to help nonliterate travelers find safe lodging.