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PAYNE' S DANCE HALL
An antique auction held on Sunday, October 3, 1965, at the
Miss Dorothea M. Mueller, 312 E. Green Bay Ave., Saukville, mar
end of an era.
Miss Mueller prepared to move from the home that had been
family for the last 102 years. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Reynolds, S
purchased the house and took possession of it early in January,
The house was originally a hotel built in 1848 by William
for the first landlord, William Richards. Christened the Pulas
but known to everyone as Payne's, the three story frame dwellin
typical tavern of pre-Civil War days.
Dances held in Payne's hall drew crowds of people from a t
radius. Engraved invitations were sent out and one of the card
Jan. 22, 1852 has been preserved. The most popular dances were
in a series during the winter months and usually at Saukville b
its central location. The festivities were held during the wee
capacity church attendance.
Booths encircling the third story dance floor provied saem
recesses where "amourous youths courted their sweethearts, not
unobserved and unmolested by dancers," according to a history t.
in the Port Washington Star around the turn of the century.
The building was purchased by John Ulrich Keller in 1863.
daughter Margaret married Peter Mueller in 1891 and the couple
the house, which they continued to operate as a tavern, an inn,