The Raleigh Tavern was a tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was one of the largest taverns in colonial Virginia. It gained some fame in the pre-American Revolutionary War Colony of Virginia as a gathering place for legislators after several Royal Governors officially dissolved the House of Burgesses, the elected legislative body, when their actions did not suit the Crown. It was also the site of the founding of the Phi Beta Kappa Society on December 5, 1776.
Reconstructed Raleigh Tavern from Duke of Gloucester Street
Engraving of the Apollo Room as it appeared in the 1850s during the visit by Benson Lossing
The reconstructed 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 where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that has a license to put up guests as lodgers. The word derives from the Latin taberna whose original meaning was a shed, workshop, stall, or pub.
Tavern Scene by Flemish artist David Teniers, c. 1658
A Dutch tavern scene by Jan Steen, late 17th century
Raleigh Tavern, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia
Buckman Tavern, where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired, Lexington, Massachusetts
