In 1838, at the foot of a bluff, Berry Haney, a migrant from Cross Plains, Tennessee, established the Cross Plains Post Office in a log house. Early Cross Plains was the site of important military road crossings, and Haney became the pioneer village's best known settler. One mile east stands Haney's Tavern, one of Dane County's oldest existing buildings, later used as a farm home. Built from native stone, the tavern was erected for Haney in 1840 by the Birds, who also built Madison's first capitol. In the tavern Haney shot a workman named Pelkie, then nursed him back to health. An adventurer by nature, Haney joined the California gold rush in 1851. He returned to Cross Plains in 1853, deserted his wife, and moved to LeRoy, Kansas, where he settled on a farm with a third wife. In 1858 Haney was shot to death in Kansas. Subsequent owners of the tavern building bore the names Arland, Sheasby, Cook, Pick, and Watson.