From various sources - English immigrant Francis Brindley constructed the original building on the site in 1652 on land obtained from his brother-in-law William Coddington. In 1673, he sold the lot to William Mayes, who enlarged the building to become a tavern. It was also used for large meetings, including as a Rhode Island General Assembly meeting place, a courthouse, and a city hall. William Mayes obtained a tavern license in 1687, and his son William Mayes, Jr. operated it through the early eighteenth century. The operation was named "The White Horse Tavern" in 1730 by owner Jonathan Nichols.
Tories and British troops were quartered there during the British occupation of Newport in the American Revolution, around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island.
Newport's Van Bueren family donated money to the private Preservation Society of Newport to restore the building in 1952, after years of neglect as a boarding house. After the restoration, it was sold and once again operated as a private tavern and restaurant, and it remains a popular drinking and dining location today.
Looks like a pretty cool place - here's their website:
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Rhode Island is one of the best kept secrets in the U.S. Expensive though. Mafia live there and they definitely keep the diversity riff-raff from proliferating.
ReplyDeleteWe have eaten there many times 20 or so years ago. They used to have a chocolate cake that was to die for. Whenever we spent time in the area to dive the U-853 Uboat sunk off Block Island we always had a dinner there.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised it wasn't burned down, with troops in it.
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