The Parker Tavern is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

Reading, Massachusetts Reading ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 census. History Settlement and American independence Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's original settl ...

, United States. Built in 1694, it is the oldest extant structure in Reading. The

saltbox A saltbox house is a gable-roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional New England style of home, originally timber framed, which takes its name from its resemblance to a woode ...

was built by Abraham Bryant, a farmer and

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

, and Ephraim Parker operated a tavern on the premises in the 18th century. It has been a local history museum since 1923, and was listed on 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 ...

in 1975.

Description and history

The Parker Tavern is located on the south side of Washington Street, west of Main Street and a short way south of the Reading MBTA station. It is set near the back of a level, grassy lot, and faces west. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a side-gable roof, wooden-shingle siding, and a granite foundation. The front facade is four bays wide, with two windows to the left of the entrance and one to the right. The door and window surrounds are plain. The building has an integral leanto at the rear, giving it a classic New England

appearance. In 1693 Abraham Bryant, a blacksmith, acquired the land on which the house stands, and was taxed a substantially larger amount the following year, suggesting the house was built by 1694. His heirs remained in the house until the 1730s, after which it was owned by Ebenezer Nichols, a tanner prominent in the civic affairs of the town. Ephraim Parker, the great-grandson of Thomas Parker, who was one of the founders of Reading,Eaton, Hon. Lilley. ''Genealogical History of the Town of Reading, Mass.,'' pp. 314, 698–700, 704, Alfred Mudge & Son, Boston, 1874. was the next owner, living here until his death in 1804. Parker was licensed to operate a tavern on the premises between 1770 and 1785. He served in the Battle of Lexington and Concord at the start of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and hosted as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

Colonel Archibald Campbell, whose regiment had been captured aboard ship in

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History ...

in 1776. Campbell remained at the tavern until 1778, when he was exchanged for

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and fo ...

. For most of the 19th century the house was owned by the Sweetser family. It was acquired by the town in 1916, and sold to the Reading Antiquarian Society in 1923 for a nominal sum. The society has since operated the property as a historic house museum, generally open on Sundays from 2 to 5 pm between May and October.

References

External links

Film of Parker Tavern interior and exteriorParker Tavern Official WebsiteParker Tavern Official Facebook page
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Taverns in Massachusetts Taverns in the American Revolution Drinking establishments on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures completed in 1694 Saltbox architecture in Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Houses in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Reading, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Reading, Massachusetts 1694 establishments in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References

External links