The Holly-Tree Inn

The first of three Holly Trees opened in Chicago in June 1872, and Gollin says that “over the next few years dozens of other Holly Trees opened in other cities, many of them after consultation with Annie.” An 1874 New York Times article refers to a “Holly-Tree Coffee-house Movement.” The name was a tribute to Charles Dickens. It echoed the title of a Charles Dickens story, “The Boots at the Holly Tree Inn.” The story merely names the inn in passing; the 1855 issue of Household Words was entitled The Holly Tree Inn and was a collection of pieces and stories about the fictitious inn. Gollin notes that Fields heard Dickens read the story on an 1867 visit to Boston, and Fields was touched by the “cheerful Christmas story about warm relationships that cross class divisions.” The name was also a reference to the beneficent holly tree at [Dickens'] graveside.