Brigham's Tavern is a historic house and traveller's accommodation at 12 Boston Turnpike in

Coventry, Connecticut Coventry ( ) is a New England town, town in Tolland County and in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,235 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The birthpla ...

. With a construction history dating to the early 18th century, it is one of the town's oldest buildings, and is historically associated with

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, who stopped here for a meal in 1789. Now a private residence, 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 1982.

Description and history

The former Brigham's Tavern is located in far northeastern Coventry, at the northeast corner of Boston Turnpike (

United States Route 44 U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkson ...

) and Brigham Tavern Road, a short distance west of the town line with

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

. It is a clapboarded two-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The main facade is five bays wide, with a center entrance flanked by simple moulded corner boards and topped by a four-light transom and cornice. Two large additions extend from the rear and left of the main block. The left ell has an entrance similar in style to the main entrance. These three sections of the house are all of 18th century origin, with the rear addition believed to be the oldest part, dating to c. 1717. An 18th-century barn stands at the rear of the property. The tavern had a long history, serving travellers on the turnpike between

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Uriah Brigham is the first documented resident of the property, believed to have occupied what is now the rear ell of the main block. His son Gershom is credited with building the main block in 1778, having gained official sanction to operate a tavern from the town. The building was clearly purpose-built as a tavern, with a second-floor ballroom and a first-floor taproom, although the bar elements of the latter have been lost. The tavern played host to

in 1789 for breakfast, after he spent the night at a residence in Mansfield. and More recently the home has been lived in by the William's Family (Erik, Alyssa, Boston, Maryjane). An in-ground pool has been built into the backyard and the interior of the living room has been redone. The table where George Washington ate breakfast at is currently at the Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Tolland County, Connecticut Buildings and structures in Tolland County, Connecticut Coventry, Connecticut Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Houses in Tolland County, Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References