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This Fourth of July, patriots can raise their glasses to the nation’s 250th birthday with a pub crawl retracing the actual steps of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and John Jay and other Founding Fathers.
Emmy Award-winning TV travel host Darley Newman visited sites in the original 13 colonies with a connection to the American Revolution for her PBS show, “Travels with Darley,” and came to a spirited conclusion.
“I discovered something history class never really covered: the Founding Fathers partied hard. And, you can still visit the places where they shared a pint or potent punch,” said Newman, whose book “Revolutionary Road Trip,” is out on June 30.
“Taverns during the Revolutionary era weren’t just places to eat and drink,” explained the Upper West Sider. “They were gathering spaces where revolutionaries debated politics, traded news, planned strategy and celebrated victories — often over rum punch, ale, whiskey and hearty comfort food.”
Here are some watering holes in NY and NJ where you can step back into the American Revolution:
Fraunces Tavern — Financial District, NYC
Washington famously gave his farewell address to his troops in 1783 at this downtown gin mill, which opened in 1762 on Pearl Street. Post founder Alexander Hamilton dined with Aaron Burr at Fraunces Tavern, which is now part museum-part pub, a week prior to their infamous duel across the river in Weehawken. Samuel Adams, John Hancock and John Jay also frequented Fraunces, the oldest surviving building in Manhattan, built in 1719. Ahead of his time, Washington even ordered takeout there. “He was an early NYC Door Dasher,” Newman said. To honor America’s 250th anniversary, Fraunces is serving up a three-course colonial dinner with dishes such as braised rabbit legs, stuffed quail crépine, and cherry trifle. The FiDi tavern also serves presidential punch, a mix of rye, orange liqueur, rum, bitters, lemon juice and peach iced tea, a nod to what the Founding Fathers quaffed in the 18th century.
Olde Bryan Inn — Saratoga Springs, NY
Revolutionary War hero Alexander Bryan bought the Olde Bryan Inn, originally a log cabin, in 1787. During the Revolutionary War, it was frequented by both American and British troops. “There are stories that Bryan shared information for the Patriots and kind of spied on the British, and the information he gave helped lead to the win at the Battle of Saratoga, which was the turning point of the American Revolution,” Newman explained. “On my visit, the owner shared Revolutionary artifacts uncovered during renovations, like shards of pottery, pipe and old rusty nails,” she said.
Baird’s Tavern — Warwick, NY
Washington and his wife, Martha, both made stops at Baird’s, one of the oldest taverns along the Hudson, which dates back to 1766. “According to George Washington’s diary, he stopped here in 1783 and ‘had a grog’ [watered-down rum] when he was Commander of the Continental Army at Newburgh. According to a local tale, Martha stayed the night in 1786 on her way to visit George,” the Orange County website states. “There’s even a gold plaque outside of the room on the second floor where it’s thought that Martha stayed, complete with a canopy bed from the 1780s,” Newman said. Baird’s was built on the King’s Highway, a thoroughfare during the revolution, “so this was a busy place to stop to hear the news and refresh,” she added.
Sweet Clover Farm — Highland Mills, NY
At this Hudson Valley distillery, you can drink on a farm whose original owner was Aaron Burr, officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and then US vice president from 1801 to 1805. Sweet Clover Farm, which makes vodka, gin and bourbon in-house, is serving a Bulls Head bourbon to honor the former Bulls Head Tavern on Bowery Street in Lower Manhattan, which George Washington made his temporary headquarters in November 1783.
Nassau Inn & Yankee Doodle Tap Room — Princeton, NJ
This hotel in downtown Princeton, originally called College Inn, was occupied by the British during the Revolution. It also housed Continental Congress members, who stayed there when they met in nearby Nassau Hall on the campus of Princeton University, which was turned into a battleground and then US Capitol in 1783. The Battle of Yorktown and the signing of the Peace Treaty were toasted there, over punchbowls. Now, its restaurant, the Yankee Doodle Tap Room, pays homage to Revolutionary history with a 13-foot Norman Rockwell painting boasting the lyrics of “Yankee Doodle.” “They wanted to remove it and put it in a museum, but he painted it on a wall, and they can’t take the wall down cause the whole place would collapse,” Newman said.
Flounder Brewing Co. — Hillsborough Township, NJ
This restored 250-year-old barn-turned-brewery stands on the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. That 680-mile trail, which spans nine states, was trekked by Washington and his Continental Army during their 1781 march from Newport, RI, to Yorktown, Va., which led to their final victory there. To commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, the brewery unveiled a beer aptly named Victory Town Ale. The founder of the bar, Billy Jordan, chose to restore the history of the barn and farm. “He could have just torn this barn down, but he did not. Because it’s so expensive to restore these historic buildings. So I think that’s pretty neat … this interest in keeping those places alive,” Newman said.
Glenbrook Brewery — Morristown, NJ
Morristown is known as “the military capital of the American Revolution,” where Washington and the Continental Army spent two winters, and the home of Ford Mansion, where Washington’s headquarters were from 1779 to 1780. Glenbrook, the first-ever brewery in the town, is serving a special beer, “250th Anniversary Ale. Established 1776,” for which they partnered with Laird & Company, the nation’s oldest licensed distillery. “It’s a gathering place for reenactors from the area, they go there after work,” Newman said. “It’s just fun to see them all dressed up.”
Galloping Hill Inn — Union, NJ
This hot dog stand, which serves birch beer on tap, is located alongside Galloping Hill Road, used by British troops in 1780 marching toward both the Battle of Connecticut Farms and the Battle of Springfield. There is a monument that reads, “Here the British turned,” and quotes Washington, who praised his soldiers in New Jersey, saying, “They flew to arms universally and acted with a spirit equal to anything I have seen during the war.”
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