|
A
Piece of Pennsylvania History Uncovered
A Tavern License dating to 1786 was discovered making The Fairfield Inn the oldest continuously operated Tavern in the Gettysburg and Adams County area and one
of the oldest Taverns still operational in America. Located just outside of Gettysburg, the Inn was built 255 years
ago in 1757. The Inn was used as a Colonial Meeting House in the 1700’s and in the 1800’s found itself being used
as a Stagecoach Stop and Drover’s Tavern on the “Great Road” which traveled between our nation's first capital, York,
PA, and Hagerstown, MD. It had been believed that the Inn began serving travelers when an addition referred to as the
Mansion House was added on in the early 1800’s. This latest discovery, however, obtained from the Adams County Historical
Society in Gettysburg, PA, places the date of the Tavern License, issued to Squire Miller, 37 years earlier than previously
believed.
The Squire Miller Tavern is located on the first floor of the Mansion House. Newly renovated, the Tavern
now has beautiful carpeting in the dining area and a brick floor in the bar area. The back of the bar has also been remodeled
featuring mahogany woodwork with large archways for the liquor display. One of the key features of the Tavern is the huge
stone fireplace c.1786, complete with the original kettle arm and kettle. A full bar is available, offering the finest
mixed drinks, wines and draft beers to guests. The Tavern can seat 25 in addition to the seating at the bar itself. Come and enjoy The Squire Miller Tavern - where the drinks are long and the conversation lively...
Did someone
say: SPIRITS?????? * An Aperitif or Apparition
* Cleveland Magazine 12 Great Getaways
- By: Lynne Thompson .....unlike other area restaurants and inns, the Fairfield Inn doesn't advertise
its ghosts - prank-pulling soldiers in the kitchen, a crusty old character in the dining room, a female with a dislike for
closed doors on the third floor - perhaps because owner Sal Chandon doesn't quite believe in them. Located eight miles outside
of Gettysburg, the place has the sort of history that supports such a cast. The stone tavern and onetime stagecoach stop,
built in 1757, and adjoining "mansion house" constructed in 1801, served as a colonial meeting house, Underground
Railroad station and Confederate field hospital. My large corner room, with its canopy bed and whirlpool
tub in the recenty remodeled bath, seems inviting enough...I reluctantly return to my room after a dinner of chicken and biscuits,
armed with the cordless house phone....First, the same closet door that wouldn't open while I was trying to dress for dinner
won't stay closed. The door slowly inches open once, then twice, after I carefully turn the knob and fit the bolt into the
doorframe. Then the floor begins to silently vibrate - yes, vibrate - while I'm in bed watching TV. I screw up the
courage to climb out of bed and peek out a window, then stick my head out the door into the second-floor hall. The whole place
is frighteningly quiet. Twenty minutes later, the vibrations lessen in intensity and then stop. By that
time, I've changed into my street clothes, turned on all the lights and returned to bed with the phone in one hand, my
purse in the other, ready to dial 9-1-1 and make a run for the front door. I don't fall asleep until after dawn..... Perhaps you will meet a Spirit or two...or at least enjoy one in the Tavern!
|
