Where Is The Oldest Bar In New York State?
Where can you enjoy the oldest bar in New York State? Is it in Central New York, Northern New York, or downstate?
New York's oldest bar is The Old ’76 House located in Tappan New York. The bar opened up for the first time back in 1755. Heck, this place has been serving booze at it since before the American Revolution. According to Thrillist, this building has served several purposes.
Though some have mistakenly thought this stone house on the New York/New Jersey state line was an old prison, it's only ever incarcerated one person: Revolutionary War spy Major John Andre. And despite being referred to as “Andre’s Prison”, it has pretty much been a bar the whole time before and since. It was also a safe house for revolutionary soldiers hiding from the British, and was a regular dining spot for George Washington."
The bar is indeed one of the oldest in the entire country. The building was built in 1668, and actually played a role in the outcome of The Revolutionary War. You can learn of the history here.
Another very old bar in New York is the Samuel Fraunces Tavern, located right in New York City. This bar was originally as a mansion for a wealthy New York City family, and turned into the Queen’s Head tavern in 1762. When the British evacuated New York City in 1783 George Washington celebrated here. Fraunces is currently a museum celebrating both the Tavern’s past as well as the American Revolution.
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