National Register of Historic Places

Black Horse Tavern

Belfast, Waldo County, Maine
Listed
February 11, 1982
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
82000783

About this property

The Black Horse Tavern is an historic tavern on Searsport Avenue in Belfast, Maine. Built in 1795, it was the city's first tavern located on the eastern side of the Passagassawakeag River, and is a well-preserved example of vernacular Federal period architecture. The building, now a private residence, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The building known in the 19th century as the Black Horse Tavern stands on the north side of Searsport Avenue (United States Route 1), near the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River and between Old Searsport Avenue and Stephenson Lane. It is a 1+1⁄2-story wood-frame Cape style house, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof, central chimney, clapboard siding, and stone foundation. Its main facade faces roughly east, and the main entrance, located at the center, has no trim. A single-story ell, a 20th-century replacement for an older ell, extends to the north, with two gabled dormers projecting from the roof. The interior of the main house is well preserved, with wide pine wainscoting, large fireplaces in both front rooms, with simple vertical-board partitions in the rear. Original doors and frames are still generally in use. The house was built about 1795 by Jerome Stephenson, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War who moved to Belfast in 1784. Stephenson was prominent in local civic affairs, serving as selectman in 1785. Although he built the house for his family, he converted it into a tavern in 1800, a role it fulfilled under is son and grandson, until about 1852. The sign used to identify the tavern is now stored in the house. National Register of Historic Places listings in Waldo County, Maine

Location

Belfast, Waldo County, Maine
44.42889, -68.98327

Categories

COMMERCE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

White, James P., House
Industrial
1 mi
Church Street Historic District
Listed
1.1 mi
Masonic Temple
Industrial
1.1 mi
Belfast Commercial Historic District
Listed
1.2 mi
Belfast National Bank
Industrial
1.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Black Horse Tavern listed on the National Register?

Black Horse Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 11, 1982.

What type of historic resource is Black Horse Tavern?

Black Horse Tavern is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Black Horse Tavern?

The period of significance for Black Horse Tavern is recorded as the early_republic era.

Can I research the history near Black Horse Tavern?

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