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  • America's Most Historic Beer Bar

    • 02/09/2016
    • ADB
    • 1 Comments

    We all like to look at Historic Inns and Taverns and Bars. They are usually steeped in character and great stories. If one had to choose the Most Historic and revered establishment in our nation’s colorful past, the vote would probably turn towards Tun Tavern.

    It's long gone, but well recalled. A combination tavern and brewery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tun Tavern served as THE founding or early meeting place for a number of notable groups. It is traditionally regarded as the site where what would become our vaunted United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive during the American Revolution. It is also regarded as one of the "birthplaces of Masonic teachings in America.” That is a powerful combination of tradition and culture in one location. 

    The tavern was erected in 1686 at the intersection of King (later called Water) Street and Tun Alley by settler Joshua Carpenter, brother of Samuel Carpenter, a Quaker merchant who made a fortune trading in Barbados. Joshua Carpenter built the Tun on the caraway that led to Carpenter's Wharf, so it received lots of general foot traffic, officials, leaders in commerce, and served as counterpoint for gatherings and events.

    Tun Tavern’ namesake derives from an Old English word "tun," meaning a barrel or keg of beer. Granted, it was’t all that creative, but it got the message across. In the 1740s, a restaurant appellation, "Peggy Mullan's Red Hot Beef Steak Club" was added to the name of the tavern.

    Tun Tavern hosted the initial meetings of a number of organizations. In 1720, the first meetings of the St. George's Society (a charitable organization founded to assist needy Englishmen arriving in the new colony—predecessor of today's "Sons of the Society of St. George") were held there. In 1732, the tavern hosted the first meetings of St. John's Lodge No. 1 of the Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple. (The Masonic Temple of Philadelphia also recognizes Tun Tavern as the birthplace of Masonic teachings in America.) In 1747 Tun Tavern became the founding place of the St. Andrew's Society, which like the St. George's Society helped newly arrived Scottish.

    Tun Tavern was a significant meeting place for our founding fathers along with their notable causes. In 1756 Benjamin Franklin used the inn as a recruitment gathering point for the Pennsylvania militia as it prepared to fight Native American uprisings — later known as the American Revolution. The tavern later hosted a meeting of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the Continental Congress.

    According to tradition, Tun Tavern was where the United States Marines held their first recruitment drive. On November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress commissioned the innkeeper and former Quaker Samuel Nicholas to raise two battalions of Marines in Philadelphia. The tavern’s manager, Robert Mullan, was the "chief Marine Recruiter." Though legend places its first recruiting post at Tun Tavern, historian Edwin Simmons surmises that it was more likely the Conestoga Waggon [sic], a tavern owned by the Nicholas family. The first Continental Marine company was composed of one hundred Rhode Islanders commanded by Captain Nicholas. Each year on November 10, U.S. Marines worldwide toast the memory of this colonial inn as the officially-acknowledged birthplace of their service branch. The earliest Marines were deployed aboard Continental Congress Navy vessels as sharpshooters because they were typically recruited as outstanding marksmen.

    So, note that taverns with lots of beer flowing are great places to get people to volunteer for all kinds of things. 

    The early history of Lodge No. 2 tracks the history of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania and in fact all of America. According to them, It all traces origins back to the Tun Tavern. 

    In 1781 (near the end of the American Revolution) Tun Tavern burned down. It was not rebuilt. Its former structure stood at a location now occupied by Interstate 95, where it passes Penn's Landing. (Yes, as is typical in our always rapidly developing nation that something rich in history ends up under a freeway expanse.)

    Tun Alley once existed between Walnut and Chestnut Streets east of Front Street. A commemorative marker exists on the east side of Front Street indicates the site, across from Sansom Walk.

    But the story does not end there. When you are the United States Marine Corps. and you trace your history back to a certain location and time, you do not let that place or moment fade from memory! Semper Fi! 

    In homage to the likely 1775 Tun Tavern menu, the U.S. Marine Corps National Museum located in Quantico, Virginia contains a Tun Tavern-themed restaurant whose lunch menu features beer and other fermented (alcoholic) beverages and bread pudding, the non-alcoholic recipe of which remains a traditional staple among some U.S. Marine food services to this day.

    Semper Fi! 

Comments
 
  • Thanks for writing this piece. I am very happy to see good quality historic pieces being written as it related to American History. I hope to see a lot more. Love the site.
    09 Feb By Dave Bars 9 years ago
    Reply

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America's Most Historic Beer Bar

We all like to look at Historic Inns and Taverns and Bars. They are usually steeped in character and great stories. If one had to choose the Most Historic and revered establishment in our nation’s colorful past, the vote would probably turn towards Tun Tavern.

It's long gone, but well recalled. A combination tavern and brewery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tun Tavern served as THE founding or early meeting place for a number of notable groups. It is traditionally regarded as the site where what would become our vaunted United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive during the American Revolution. It is also regarded as one of the "birthplaces of Masonic teachings in America.” That is a powerful combination of tradition and culture in one location. 

The tavern was erected in 1686 at the intersection of King (later called Water) Street and Tun Alley by settler Joshua Carpenter, brother of Samuel Carpenter, a Quaker merchant who made a fortune trading in Barbados. Joshua Carpenter built the Tun on the caraway that led to Carpenter's Wharf, so it received lots of general foot traffic, officials, leaders in commerce, and served as counterpoint for gatherings and events.

Tun Tavern’ namesake derives from an Old English word "tun," meaning a barrel or keg of beer. Granted, it was’t all that creative, but it got the message across. In the 1740s, a restaurant appellation, "Peggy Mullan's Red Hot Beef Steak Club" was added to the name of the tavern.

Tun Tavern hosted the initial meetings of a number of organizations. In 1720, the first meetings of the St. George's Society (a charitable organization founded to assist needy Englishmen arriving in the new colony—predecessor of today's "Sons of the Society of St. George") were held there. In 1732, the tavern hosted the first meetings of St. John's Lodge No. 1 of the Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple. (The Masonic Temple of Philadelphia also recognizes Tun Tavern as the birthplace of Masonic teachings in America.) In 1747 Tun Tavern became the founding place of the St. Andrew's Society, which like the St. George's Society helped newly arrived Scottish.

Tun Tavern was a significant meeting place for our founding fathers along with their notable causes. In 1756 Benjamin Franklin used the inn as a recruitment gathering point for the Pennsylvania militia as it prepared to fight Native American uprisings — later known as the American Revolution. The tavern later hosted a meeting of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the Continental Congress.

According to tradition, Tun Tavern was where the United States Marines held their first recruitment drive. On November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress commissioned the innkeeper and former Quaker Samuel Nicholas to raise two battalions of Marines in Philadelphia. The tavern’s manager, Robert Mullan, was the "chief Marine Recruiter." Though legend places its first recruiting post at Tun Tavern, historian Edwin Simmons surmises that it was more likely the Conestoga Waggon [sic], a tavern owned by the Nicholas family. The first Continental Marine company was composed of one hundred Rhode Islanders commanded by Captain Nicholas. Each year on November 10, U.S. Marines worldwide toast the memory of this colonial inn as the officially-acknowledged birthplace of their service branch. The earliest Marines were deployed aboard Continental Congress Navy vessels as sharpshooters because they were typically recruited as outstanding marksmen.

So, note that taverns with lots of beer flowing are great places to get people to volunteer for all kinds of things. 

The early history of Lodge No. 2 tracks the history of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania and in fact all of America. According to them, It all traces origins back to the Tun Tavern. 

In 1781 (near the end of the American Revolution) Tun Tavern burned down. It was not rebuilt. Its former structure stood at a location now occupied by Interstate 95, where it passes Penn's Landing. (Yes, as is typical in our always rapidly developing nation that something rich in history ends up under a freeway expanse.)

Tun Alley once existed between Walnut and Chestnut Streets east of Front Street. A commemorative marker exists on the east side of Front Street indicates the site, across from Sansom Walk.

But the story does not end there. When you are the United States Marine Corps. and you trace your history back to a certain location and time, you do not let that place or moment fade from memory! Semper Fi! 

In homage to the likely 1775 Tun Tavern menu, the U.S. Marine Corps National Museum located in Quantico, Virginia contains a Tun Tavern-themed restaurant whose lunch menu features beer and other fermented (alcoholic) beverages and bread pudding, the non-alcoholic recipe of which remains a traditional staple among some U.S. Marine food services to this day.

Semper Fi! 

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