Historic Williamsburg

38. Raleigh Tavern

Williamsburg, VA

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Raleigh Tavern was named after Sir Walter Raleigh, the soldier and explorer who founded the first Virginia colony in 1585. The tavern itself, which was established around 1717, was a popular place for residents and visitors alike to meet and gather. Many notable individuals have enjoyed its hospitality. Raleigh Tavern was a frequent dining spot for George Washington. Thomas Jefferson once attended a ball held at the Raleigh in 1763 and later wrote about making a fool of himself at the dance in front of a young lady whom he had attempted to impress. When Governor Botetourt arrived in Williamsburg in 1768, the council treated him to a meal at the Raleigh to celebrate his arrival. In 1769 the House of Burgesses protested the Townshend Acts, which were a series of acts passed to unjustly tax the colonists. Governor Botetourt dismissed the chamber, but some of the House members met later at the tavern and agreed to stop purchasing or selling certain British goods. A similar incident occurred in 1774 when Governor Dunmore dissolved the House of Burgesses after dissent rose regarding the closing of the Port of Boston after the Boston Tea Party. Once again, members of the House of Burgesses reconvened at the Raleigh to form another nonimportation association, or boycott. George Washington introduced the agreement, and George Mason drafted the document. The Raleigh Tavern was "willfully burnt down in 1859," causing $15,000 dollars of damage to the tavern and two nearby stores. The Raleigh was not rebuilt. In 1928 the Williamsburg Holding Company, which was a precursor to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, excavated its foundations. Insurance policy sketches, a book called "Pictorial Field Book of the American Revolution," and eighteenth-century inventories provided enough information so that the Tavern could be accurately reproduced. The reconstructed Raleigh Tavern opened in 1932.