The Red Lion Inn was a historic inn located near the Red Lion Bridge just outside

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Bensalem Township Bensalem Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township borders the Northeast Philadelphia, northeastern section of Philadelphia and includes the communities of Andalusia, Pennsylvania ...

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The inn, the first

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

in the area, was located on the King's Highway (now Bristol Pike) at the bridge across

Poquessing Creek Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary, right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms the boundary between Philad ...

History and architectural features

In 1730, Philip Amos petitioned the court to keep a public house of entertainment "near Poquessing creek, on the highway from Philadelphia to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, that being The Red Lion Inn". Delegates to the

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

dined there on their way to Philadelphia in 1774.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

was known to stop there on his travels to and from Philadelphia. The inn operated from about 1726 until December 1991, when it was destroyed by fire. Many stories surround the inn as it was home to Henrietta, a companion who lived in the upstairs center room. The center room though that floor was not heated was always warmer than either adjoining room. Its interior went through many renovations over its lifetime, but many things were left unchanged such as the grand fireplace in the basement-level meeting room where many meetings were held during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. It was later known as a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. General

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 ...

and the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

camped along the Poquessing behind the Red Lion Inn on their way to Yorktown. Just a few blocks away lies the John Hart Burial Yard, established in 1683, where some of the earliest settlers, including ancestors of Dr. Benjamin Rush, were laid to rest.

References

{{coord, 40.064, -74.980, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Hotels in Philadelphia Drinking establishments in Pennsylvania Burned hotels in the United States 1730 establishments in Pennsylvania 1991 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures demolished in 1991