Indian King Tavern - Haddonfield, NJ
N 39° 53.938 W 075° 01.820
18S E 497406 N 4416544
This is the premier visitor attraction in Haddonfield, NJ for it was here that it was decided N.J. would be changed from a 'Colony' to a 'State' in 1777. The Indian King Tavern has been a central landmark in Haddonfield, N.J. for 255 years.
Waymark Code: WMH6A5
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 05/29/2013
Views: 5
In Colonial times this was the place in West Jersey to tie one on or to discuss politics in a forum not known today. In 1745, Mathias Aspden, a Quaker merchant and ship owner purchased property in the center of the village of Haddonfield, cleared the poorly constructed brewery buildings and began constructing the largest tavern on the village's main road, Kings Highway. The structure was completed in 1750.
Taverns such as Aspden's were centers of commercial and social life, and in the increasing tensions between the British Empire, represented by Loyalists, and the Patriots, forums for heated debate that put the lives of both those arguing and the owners of such places in jeopardy.
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.