Much has been written about the old taverns of New York in a disconnected way, but heretofore there has been no connected story linking them with the current events of the early history of the city. This story I have attempted to tell from the Dutch settlement down to the early part of the last century, when the growth of the city and extensive travel entirely changed their character. In doing this I have found myself at issue with many writers on the subject. In every such case the conclusions

Dutch Taverns On the return of Hendrick Hudson from his voyage of discovery in 1609, his reports were so favorable, especially, as to the abundance of valuable furs which were to be had at very little cost, that several merchants of Amsterdam, without delay, fitted out trading vessels and sent them to trade with the Indians in the territory he had visited. The returns were satisfactory, and they formed themselves into a company under the name of the United Netherland Company and established a tr

New York and the Pirates When the English captured New Amsterdam, the heart of the British soldier was no doubt cheered and gladdened by the sight of the Sign of Saint George and the Dragon, which was boldly hung out in front of the house looking out on the river on the west side of the present Pearl Street just above Maiden Lane, kept by James Webb, from London. It was a stone house which had been built more than fifteen years before by Sander Leendertsen (Alexander Lindsay), upon the site of t

The Coffee House In September, 1701, a very exciting election took place in the city. Thomas Noell, the mayor, was commissioned and sworn into office on the 14th day of October, 1701. The returns of the election for aldermen and assistant aldermen, which gave the Leislerians a majority in the board, were contested in some of the wards and a scrutiny was ordered by the mayor, who appointed committees, composed of members of both parties, to examine the votes in the contested wards. Some of the Le

The Black Horse In the early part of the eighteenth century, there stood on the southern corner of Smith and Garden Streets, the present William Street and Exchange Place, the Black Horse Tavern, kept by John DeHoneur, who seems to have been its landlord for many years. John or Johannes DeHoneur was recommended for the office of captain of militia in June, 1709. Whether he was a tavern-keeper at this time, or how soon after he became one, we do not know, but on October 18, 1727, the assembly dir

The Merchants’ Coffee House The following memoranda from the manuscript diary of Paymaster General Mortier, of the royal navy, indicates the taverns of New York that were probably most patronized by the fashionable gentlemen of the day, for the few years preceding 1761: The piece of land, now the block inclosed by Broadway, Fulton, Nassau and Ann Streets, or nearly so, was, in the early part of the eighteenth century, a public resort, and known as Spring Garden. There was a tavern or public hous

Tavern Signs Samuel Johnson, born in 1709, was in his prime about the middle of the eighteen the century. His description of the advantages afforded by a good inn has not yet been surpassed. Here it is: “There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as at a capital tavern. Let there be ever so great plenty of good things, ever so much grandeur, ever so much elegance, ever so much desire that everybody should be easy, in the nature of things it cannot be; there must alway

The King’s Arms George Burns, as has been stated, was in 1753 keeping one of the best taverns in New York. Soon after this he left the city and took charge of the tavern at Trenton Ferry, which was on the great post road between New York and Philadelphia, over which flowed almost all travel between the two cities and to the south. The prospects must have been very enticing. Whether they were realized or not, Burns soon became anxious to make a change and, returning to New York, became the landlo

Hampden Hall In May, 1767, Bolton and Sigell moved into the house of Samuel Francis, near the Exchange, lately kept by John Jones, known as the Queen’s Head Tavern, and, as strangers, solicited the favor of the public. This tavern shortly after, and for some time, was the scene of much of the excitement connected with the period. In January, 1768, the committee appointed at a meeting of the inhabitants of the city on the 29th of December just past to consider the expediency of entering into meas

The Province Arms In the early part of the year 1775 a state of uneasiness and expectancy pervaded the community. Trade was prostrate. The merchants met at the Exchange or at the Coffee House and nervously talked over the situation, for which there seemed to be no remedy; while they looked out on the quiet docks, now almost deserted. They were calmly waiting for something to happen, and it came in the news of the battle of Lexington. This was the crisis which produced a decided change in conditi

Fraunces’ Tavern In Wall Street, on the corner of Nassau Street, was the tavern of John Simmons. In this tavern were witnessed the formalities which gave birth to the new American city of New York. Here, on the 9th of February, 1784, James Duane, at a special meeting of the City Council, having been appointed by the governor and board of appointment, was formally installed mayor of New York City and took the oath of office in the presence of that body and of the governor and lieutenant-governor

The Tontine Coffee House Long before the Revolution, there had been various societies in New York under such names as St. Andrew, St. George, St. David and St. John, all of which professed the most fervent loyalty to the King of Great Britain. This induced the projectors of a new society, composed of many who had belonged to the Sons of Liberty, of Stamp Act and Revolutionary times, to select for their patron saint a genuine American guardian, and thus was originated the Tammany Society, or Colu

The City Hotel The social ties that had existed before the Revolution were all broken up, and new connections had to be formed. Societies, like the St. Andrew and St. George, were revived, and patriotic societies, such as the Cincinnati and the Tammany were formed. The first purely social club after the war, of which we have any knowledge, was the Black Friars, founded November 10, 1784, the officers of which were a Father, Chancellor, Cardinals and Priors. On May 9, 1789, the society held a fes

The Shakespeare Tavern On June 19, 1812, President Madison issued his formal proclamation of war with Great Britain. The news reached New York at nine o’clock on the morning of Saturday, June 20th. On the same day orders came to Commodore Rodgers to sail on a cruise against the enemy. He was in entire readiness and put to sea within an hour after receiving his instructions. He passed Sandy Hook on the afternoon of June 21st, with his squadron consisting of the President, 44; the United States, 4

Road Houses We have the evidence of persons who lived in the early part of the nineteenth century that among the old Dutch and Puritan families there was a strong prejudice against dancing, especially by young ladies in public places, and there is hardly a doubt that this was much increased by the introduction of the waltz, quite different from the dancing of old colonial days. Notwithstanding this, we find that in the accounts of the balls given on important occasions there does not seem to hav