White Horse Tavern (Newport, Rhode Island)

The White Horse Tavern was constructed before 1673 and is believed to be the oldest tavern building in the United States.[2] It is located on the corner of Farewell and Marlborough streets in Newport, Rhode Island.

White Horse Tavern
White Horse Tavern in 2017
LocationNewport, Rhode Island
Coordinates41°29′30″N 71°18′51″W
Built1652–1673
Part ofNewport Historic District (ID68000001[1])
NRHP reference No.72000032[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 23, 1972
Designated NHLDCPNovember 24, 1968

History
The tavern in 2009

Francis Brinley, an English immigrant, constructed the original building on the site in 1652.[2] In 1673, he sold the lot to William Mayes who enlarged the building to become a tavern.[2] The building was also used for large meetings, including use as a Rhode Island General Assembly meeting place, a court house, and a city hall.[2] William Mayes obtained a tavern license in 1687, and his son William Mayes, Jr. operated it through the early eighteenth century.[2] The operation was named "The White Horse Tavern" in 1730 by owner Jonathan Nichols.[2]

Tories and British troops were quartered there during the British occupation of Newport in the American Revolution, around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island.[2] 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.[2] After the restoration, the building was sold and once again operated as a private tavern and restaurant,[2] and it remains a popular drinking and dining location today.[3]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "The Architectural Heritage of Newport, Rhode Island" - Page 433 by Antoinette Forrester Downing, Vincent Joseph Scully - 1967
  3. http://www.whitehorsetavern.com/history.htm
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