White Horse Tavern
About this property
The White Horse Tavern is a tavern in Newport, Rhode Island. The building was constructed before 1673 and is believed to be the oldest tavern building in the United States. It is located on the corner of Farewell and Marlborough streets. English immigrant Francis Brindley constructed the original building on the site in 1652 on land obtained from his brother-in-law William Coddington. In 1673, he sold the lot to William Mayes, who enlarged the building to become a tavern. It was also used for large meetings, including as a Rhode Island General Assembly meeting place, a courthouse, and a city hall. Mayes obtained a tavern license in 1687, and his son William Mayes Jr. operated it through the early eighteenth century. The operation was named "The White Horse Tavern" in 1730 by owner Jonathan Nichols. Loyalists and British troops were quartered at the tavern during the British occupation of Newport in the American Revolution, around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island. It is rumored that Benjamin Franklin patronized the tavern when visiting his brother James, who operated a printing press in town. Newport's Van Bueren family donated money to the private Preservation Society of Newport to restore the building in 1952, after years of neglect as a boarding house. After the restoration, it was sold and once again operated as a private tavern and restaurant, and it remains a popular drinking and dining location today. List of the oldest restaurants in the United States National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island
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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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Questions about this property
When was White Horse Tavern listed on the National Register?
White Horse Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1972.
What type of historic resource is White Horse Tavern?
White Horse Tavern is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for White Horse Tavern?
The period of significance for White Horse Tavern is recorded as the early_republic era.
Can I research the history near White Horse Tavern?
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