Gadsby’s Tavern

Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, located on the southwest corner of Cameron and Royal Streets, is a cultural icon for the early Federal period celebrated in Alexandria, Virginia. The museum consists of two tavern buildings, the ca. 1785 tavern and the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel. While the museum includes several generations of tavern-keepers in its interpretation, it is tavern-keeper John Gadsby for whom the complex named. John Gadsby ran the City Tavern and Hotel from 1796 to 1808. One of the largest taverns in Alexandria at the time, it catered to the upper classes and was visited by many of the early American Presidents, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Most tavern-keepers in Virginia relied on a staff of enslaved African Americans to accomplish the tavern’s work. Gadsby’s 1802 inventory indicates that he owned 11 enslaved workers making up $3,555 of his $22,441 estate.

Reported. Visitors and staff have reported unexplained activity at Gadsby’s Tavern.

Sources: Wikipedia: Gadsby’s Tavern, Wikidata Q5516440, NRHP #66000913, National Register of Historic Places (NPS).

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