VERBECK TAVERN when it was the 1907 Arbor Rest Hotel
Photo Courtesy of Pentwater Historical Society.
The Verbeck Tavern, once located on the current site of the post office and Pentwater Village Hall, played an essential role in promoting the Lake Michigan shoreline as the nation's summer playground. Tavern guests spent their days at the beach and went on berry-picking and boating excursions organized by the hotel. They ate together in the dining room at night, danced or played cards, relaxed on the porch, and strolled in the fragrant gardens. Chicagoans Frank and Elizabeth Verbeck made the hotel famous after they bought it in the pre-World War I years. Originally one of Pentwater's loveliest homes, it boasted a carriage house and stables and was built by Fred Nielsen, a partner with W.E. Ambler in a local bank that closed its doors in 1900. Elizabeth Fisher converted the Nielsen Home into the Arbor Rest Hotel in 1904. By 1907, the owner was Maria E. Sahl and she sold the Arbor Rest to the Verbecks in 1915.
Visitors came for a few days but often stayed at the Verbeck Tavern for weeks. They came by boat and train, and drove rough gravel roads to enjoy the hotel's delicious dinners and friendly atmosphere. The drive improved when in the 1920s, Lake Shore communities connected their county roads and created the West Michigan Pike.
The Pike was the first continuous paved roadway from Michigan City to Mackinac City. Elizabeth Verbeck was a local director of the West Michigan Tourist & Resort Association and an enthusasistic promotor of the Pike. During the annual West Michigan Pike motorcade, dignitaries drove the entire route and stopped in Pentwater to sample the Verbeck Tavern's hospitality.
After the VerBeeks divorced in 1921, Elizabeth, a successful businesswomen, ran the hotel until their daughter, Joan McKnight took over and renamed it the Arbutus Tea Room in 1935. Elizabeth was an organizer and secretary of the Pentwater Chamber of Commerce. She was also president of the Pentwater Women's Club and the Oceana County Federation of Women's Clubs. Frank Verbeck was a Pentwater Booster who promoted the village as a critical Lake Michigan harbor. The tavern had new owners in 1941, and by 1964 it was demolished.
Sources: “West Michigan Boosters: “The Verbeck Tavern Chronicles,” Pentwater Historical Society Newsletter Summer 2017. Woman Sees Vision, Makes Pentwater Her Home and Uses Talents to Awaken Village to Resort Possibilities” Grand Rapids Press 10/14/1927; “Boosters Bluff; then Make Good,” Grand Rapids Evening Press 6/7/1912’; “Buy Pentwater Hotel,” Grand Rapids Press 6/18/1941; “Tavern’s Name Changed,” Grand Rapids Press 6/24/1935; “The Gavel Falls on Pentwater Inn,” Ludington Daily News, 7/9/1964.