Continued… Upon arrival at the tavern, we were immediately ushered into a room that was lined with chairs. Fortunately, we’d arrived just as the doors were opening and got seats. Within minutes, it was standing room only. A black woman came in and told us she was one of the slaves who had worked at the tavern. She gave us her personal background. If we recalled correctly, she was sold away from her mother at around 12-ish to the tavern and that the people at the tavern became like surrogate family to her. She gave us the tour through her eyes as a slave.

The Raleigh Tavern was established around 1717 and burned down in December 1859, so this building was a reconstruction. They had provided guests with lodging, food, drinks, entertainment, and a stable for their horses. She’d said that not everyone got a private room — rooms were often shared with several others, often strangers. And not everyone got a bed — sometimes people slept on the floor.

She gave us some background on the importance of taverns back in the pre-revolutionary era. Basically, few venues could host big events, so taverns were a popular venue. The Raleigh regularly hosted balls when the court and legislature were in session, making it a high profile networking location.

Taverns became pivotal as the rebellion gathered steam. The patriot rebels certainly couldn’t meet in the Capitol building or Anglican Church as they were controlled by the British. They couldn’t meet in any of the other churches because of the laws about keeping doors and windows open, and they certainly couldn’t meet outdoors where any passer-by would hear their subversive talk. So taverns became critical places for planning. It was in this tavern that the Continental Congress was first proposed.

We went into the next room, which looked a lot like the coffeehouse, with a small beverage service area and a table with several chairs. A game, a newspaper and a book were laid out, indicating how the patrons spent their time in here. She gave more information about taverns, such as they sold liquor, beer, wine and ciders, which added to their popularity.

continued… After we left the blacksmith shop, we continued east down Duke of Gloucester Street to the Capitol Building, which was at the end of the street.

This was the side of the building. We had to make a right turn on Blair street to get to the entrance.