White Horse Tavern, also known as the White Horse Inn and Old Swanenburg Farm, is a historic

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

and

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

located in East Whiteland Township,

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

. The building consists of two sections. The original section dates to about 1750, and is a two-story,

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

ed stone structure. The western section was added about 1790. Located at mile marker 24 on the Old Lancaster Road, it was an overnight stop on the first stage from Philadelphia to Lancaster. General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

used the older part as his headquarters following the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

and during the aborted " Battle of the Clouds." It was also an important stop for Washington's messenger from Valley Forge to Lancaster, when the latter served as the temporary U.S. capital. ''Note:'' This includes It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1978.

References

Hotel buildings completed in 1750 Hotel buildings completed in 1790 Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Chester County, Pennsylvania 1750 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, Pennsylvania {{ChesterCountyPA-NRHP-stub