Evans Mills honors a bizarre part of its history

EVANS MILLS, N.Y. (WWNY) - A wild story in Evans Mills is now honored as a part of local history.

The Evans Mills Village Board was awarded the Legend & Lore Marker Grant from the Pomeroy Foundation for the story of “The Poker Game”.

As legend has it, President Van Buren’s son John lost his Mistress Elena Vespucci to George Parish II of Ogdensburg in a poker game at the John Hoover Inn in Evans Mills in 1828. The Inn has been on the registry of historic places in New York since 1982.

Village officials wrote an essay to the foundation about the bizarre history of the Inn and were excited to hear they were awarded the marker.

“I love the fact that people are going to be able to just walk by or just see it driving by. So actually, to have a permanent marker that is not going to go anywhere that our kids from now on will be bale to learn about, I think it’s really amazing for our community,” said Samantha Fleming, Evans Mills Clerk Treasurer.

The owners of the Inn also have a tradition every fall where members of their family, all owners of old Model-T cars, go for a drive through the north country.

With the marker being revealed, the family felt it was the perfect day to get everyone together.

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