Boston area taverns of the Revolution
Boston was the largest town in the Thirteen Colonies until Philadelphia outgrew it in the mid-18th century. Boston's oceanfront location made it a lively port, and the city primarily engaged in shipping and fishing during its colonial days. Many of the crucial events of the American Revolution occurred in or near Boston. With economic growth stagnated, and Boston's penchant for mob action along with the colonists' growing lack of faith in either Britain or its Parliament, a revolutionary spirit in the city was fostered. Today you can visit several taverns and public houses that date back to the American Revolution era. These were places for meeting, and lively debate of the issues of the American Independence movement in and around Boston.
Green Dragon
The original Green Dragon opened at the corner of Union and Hanover streets near the Faneuil Marketplace in 1654, but was razed in the 1850s. Today's Green Dragon opened in 1993.
Paul Revere wrote in his memoirs about clandestine meetings that he and the other Sons of Liberty: Samuel Adams, John Adams, Dr. Joseph Warren, and others, held there. The Boston Tea Party was also planned at the Green Dragon. The Sons organized eavesdropping operations at the tavern to learn British troop plans related to the march on Concord. Later, in 1788, Patriots met in the tavern to draw up a resolution to support the Federal Constitution. On 19 August 1892, a commemorative plaque was placed there by the Massachusetts Society, Sons of the Revolution.
Green Dragon, 11 Marshal St., Boston
Image: BPL CC-BY
Warren Tavern
The Tavern was built in 1780 in Charlestown by Captain Eliphalet Newell, after the town was burned during the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, and using beams salvaged from ships in the Charlestown Navy Yard. Newell fought at Bunker Hill and named the tavern after his close friend and Sons of Liberty leader, Dr. Joseph Warren, who was killed at Bunker Hill. The Warren Tavern claims to be the oldest tavern in Massachusetts, and it certainly is the oldest still in its original building and location.
Paul Revere and other Patriots frequently met at the Warren Tavern, and General George Washington has been a visitor.
Warren Tavern, 2 Pleasant Street, Charlestown
Image: Upstateherd CCA-SA
Bell In Hand
Opened in 1795, by Jimmy Wilson, when he retired after 50-years on the job as Boston’s last Town Crier. Bell in Hand Tavern is America's oldest continuously operating tavern (except during Prohibition), and is located around the corner from the Green Dragon. “Bell in Hand” refers to the bell that Jimmy used to carry on the job reporting the important news of the day including: the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Defeat of the British.
Bell in Hand has occupied a couple of other sites including one on Devonshire Street before moving to its current location, but the bar is believed to be the original from the pub's initial 1795 location on Congress Street. You can see one of the original signs with a hand holding a bell in Boston's Old City Hall, near the Benjamin Franklin Statue on the Freedom Trail. Early patrons included Daniel Webster and Paul Revere.
Bell in Hand, 45-55 Union St., Boston
Image: Seasider53 CCA-SA
Union Oyster House
The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in Boston, and the oldest restaurant in continuous operation in the U.S., serving customers since 1826 from it’s pre-revolution building.
Unlike other historic Boston bars known best for their beverages, Union Oyster House is known best for its oyster bar and perfectly cooked fresh seafood served in its Colonial-period dining rooms.
Union Oyster House, 41 Union St., Boston
Image: Library of Congress PD
Beyond Boston
Barker Tavern
Just steps from Scituate Harbor, the Barker Tavern offers a rare combination of Colonial charm and waterfront location. It incorporates part of an original 1634 dwelling, said to be one of the oldest standing houses in the United States. In the 17th century, the house was used as a garrison for defense during King Philip’s War.
Note: The Tavern is currently closed, and for sale.
Barker Tavern, 21 Barker Road, Scituate
Image: Swampyank CCA-SA
Old Yarmouth Inn
Cape Cod’s oldest inn, halfway between Plymouth and Provincetown, first opened its doors to wayfarers in 1696. The wood-paneled tavern, featuring a polished bar, bay windows, and a small fireplace, is a cozy spot for a casual meal. The elegant Red Room, which dates to 1696, is a great backdrop for an intimate dinner.
Old Yarmouth Inn, 223 Route 6A, Yarmouthport
Image: © Old Yarmouth Inn
Buckman Tavern
Built in 1710, and now operated as a museum, Buckman Tavern was a gathering place for both locals and travelers, and the site of many important town meetings. Captain Parker and his militia gathered in this tavern in the early morning hours of 19 April 1775 to await the oncoming British Redcoat troops. The upstairs of Buckman contain galleries for rotating, special temporary exhibitions.
Buckman Tavern Museum, Lexington
Image: Daderot CCA-SA
Colonial Inn
The Colonial Inn in Concord, Mass., was originally three buildings, the first dating to 1716. Leading up to the battle at the Old North Bridge, the inn’s middle building was used to store arms and provisions. After the Battle of Concord on 19 April 1775, Dr. Timothy Minot Jr., cared for the wounded Minutemen in the Liberty Room which was a hospital, one of his bedrooms, “Room 24” as an operating room, and “Room 27” as the morgue.
The Thoreau family lived in part of the inn before it became a boarding house, and later the Colonial Inn.
Colonial Inn, 48 Monument Square, Concord
Image: John Phelan CCA
Wayside Inn
From its beginnings in 1716 as an stagecoach stop, to its 19th century immortalization by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to Henry Ford’s expansion and historic preservation of the property as a living museum of American history in the 20th century, The Wayside Inn offers visitors a unique window into over 300 years of American history.
This public house inspired poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to pen his 1863 “Tales of a Wayside Inn,’’ which included his famous ode “Paul Revere’s Ride.’’ Display cases include the personal effects of innkeeper Colonel Ezekiel Howe, including the sword he carried as he led Sudbury farmers on the 12-mile trek to Concord on the morning of 19 April 1775, when the first shots of the Revolution were fired.
Wayside Inn, 72 Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury
Image: Dudesleeper CCA-SA
Publick House
When Colonel Ebenezer Crafts opened the Publick House in 1771, the inn adjacent to picturesque Sturbridge Common quickly became a popular stopover for horsemen riding the roads from Boston to New York and Providence to Springfield. These days, the Publick House draws motorists from Interstate 84 and the Mass Pike. The rambling inn serves up Yankee fare, including its signature “every day is Thanksgiving’’ turkey dinner, in the historic Tap Room and Ebenezer’s Tavern.
Publick House, 277 Main St., Sturbridge
Image: © Publick House
Red Lion Inn
The small general store opened by Silas and Anna Bingham in 1773 quickly expanded into the Red Lion Inn, a popular stagecoach stop between Boston and Albany and headquarters for the 1786 Shays Rebellion. The sprawling inn’s Widow Bingham’s Tavern, with its low ceilings, massive posts, and warming fireplace, is a throwback to its early days as an eight-room public house.
Red Lion Inn, 30 Main St., Stockbridge
Image: Joe Mabel CCA-SA
Salem Cross Inn
The restored 1705 farmhouse has been a family-run restaurant since 1961. Waitstaff wear Colonial dress, and chefs bake in a restored 1699 brick oven and prepare beef, game, and fowl on the country’s only known operating roasting jack, an 18th-century device that uses an intricate system of weights, cogs, and pulleys to turn a spit in huge hearths. The inn hosts special 18th-century-style feasts that include pie making, mulling, and chowder demonstrations along with horse-drawn wagon or sleigh rides through the 600-acre property.
Salem Cross Inn, 260 West Main St., West Brookfield
Image: Magicpiano CCA-SA
Scarlet Oak Tavern
The tavern dates only to 2007, but it’s housed in a thoroughly restored 250-year-old Colonial house on what Eleanor Roosevelt called “the prettiest Main Street in America.’’ A $1 million renovation reinvigorated the house, which features a comfortable dining room and a large, dark-wood bar. Scarlet Oak Tavern’s seasonal menus feature local ingredients, including produce sourced from its own farm in Groton.
Scarlet Oak Tavern, 1217 Main St., Hingham
Image: © Scarlet Oak Tavern