Assembly Hall, also known as Serio House, de France House, and Fletcher's Tavern was a small

tavern A tavern is a type 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 ...

built in 1808 in

Washington, Mississippi Washington is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Adams County, Mississippi, Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Located along the lower Mississippi River, Mississippi, east of Natchez, Mississippi, Natchez, it was the sec ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978 and designated a

Mississippi Landmark A Mississippi Landmark is a building officially nominated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and approved by each county's chancery clerk. The Mississippi Landmark designation is the highest form of recognition bestowed on prope ...

on March 21, 1995.

History

In 1802 a political rivalry between the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...

and the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

led to the relocation of Mississippi's then territorial capital. The Democrat-Republican government elected to move the capital from the Federalist-leaning

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

to the more rural Washington, Mississippi; however, no capitol building was ever built. Meetings of the state's general assembly were held in the tavern, then owned by Charles de France. Upon admission of the state in 1817, the first state convention was held in the tavern, while all subsequent conventions before 1820 were held in Natchez.

References

Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Commercial buildings completed in 1808 Mississippi Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in Adams County, Mississippi Taverns in the United States Former state capitols in the United States Government of Mississippi Drinking establishments on the National Register of Historic Places {{Mississippi-NRHP-stub