I had to get here @ 6 AM before the heavy traffic began to flow by and obscure my shot. There is also a great deal of parking in front of the site as well. The shot was taken facing northeast. There seems to be some changes in the physical structure; the NRHP site seem smaller in the older picture and much more expansive in the newer one. The Indian King Tavern, New Jersey's first historic site, is the most used site for postcards in Haddonfield. The postcard is cancelled with the date August 26, 1912 and cost a penny to send.
From my previous waymarks:
Indian King Tavern is NJ's most historic buildings, named for the local Lenape Indians. It is where NJ was legally created. In 1900, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of this event, this blue plaque was erected.
There is an historic marker attached to the outside. The plaque tells of this history of this historic site. It reads Within this building a tavern house the council for safety of the state of New Jersey was organized on March 18, 1777. Herein also in September in the same year the legislature unanimously decided resolved that after the word "state" should be substited "colony" in all public writes and commissions.
Indian King Inn (open daily except Sun. 9-5; free), 233 King's Highway E., was built 1750 by Mathias Aspden and has been a historic memorial since 1916. Several of the rooms are furnished with Colonial pieces; others have on display collections of Colonial relics. New Jersey's first legislature met here in 1777, when driven from Trenton by the British. It declared New Jersey a State, and in May of the same year adopted the first Great Seal of the State. The inn is a large three-story structure with pitch roof and white stucco walls. Pent eaves run across the street front, projecting far enough to give shelter to the low brick platform that forms a porch. A small hip roof with a dormer above the central second floor window makes the design unusual. New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past: Page 627, Tour 27. MCMXXXIX
The Indian King Tavern, finished in 1750 by a wealthy Philadelphia merchant and ship owner named Matthias Aspden, is a fine example of an early American public house and tavern.
The tavern was originally built as a three-and-one-half story brick building. By 1764, it had been enlarged to 24 rooms with five cellars. On its north elevation, a two-story addition was constructed. Commonly referred to as “the ark,” this part of the building was used in connection with tavern operations.
Thomas Redman purchased the property in 1775. Redman, a Quaker, quickly raised the ire of local patriots with his outspoken pacifism. In January 1777, he was arrested and jailed for his frequent public pacifist readings. Shortly after his release from prison in May of that same year, he sold the tavern to Hugh Creighton.
Creighton continued to operate the premises as a tavern and inn, retaining Thomas Smith, the innkeeper for previous owner Thomas Redman. Before long, Smith and the tavern’s new owner found themselves at the center of political events that would forever change the course of history for the colony of New Jersey and the nation.
Tavern Museum hours:
SATURDAY - 10 a.m. to noon; 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
SUNDAY - 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY through FRIDAY - 10 a.m. to noon; 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Special provisions can be made for tour groups.
For additional information contact:
William Mason
Indian King Tavern Museum
233 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield, NJ 08033
(856)-429-6792
