Middleton Tavern

Maryland · United States · Hotel

One of the oldest buildings in Annapolis, built in the mid 1700s. Jefferson, Franklin and Washington are all said to have stayed here.

Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland is among the oldest buildings in the city, built in the middle of the 1700s and bought by Horatio Middleton. After his death his son Samuel took it on and ran it.

The guest list is the reason the building matters. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington are all said to have stayed here, in the years when Annapolis was briefly the capital of the young country and the tavern was where the people running it ate and slept.

Nobody claims to know who walks the halls now. That is unusual, and it is to the establishment's credit that no name has been attached. The building has been standing for close to three centuries and has held a very large number of people.

It operates today as a restaurant and bar, so the accounts come from staff closing up and from customers, and they have accumulated steadily rather than clustering around any single incident.

Annapolis is a small city with an unusually intact eighteenth century core. This is the building at the middle of it.

FAQ

Where is Middleton Tavern located?

Middleton Tavern is in Maryland, United States.

Image: AlbertHerring / CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons