Sun Tavern: Did George Washington Sleep Here?

Sun Tavern: Did George Washington Sleep Here?. . , Fairfield's prominence brought many important visitors to town, including President George Washington, who recorded his October 16, 1789 visit in his journal. The newly inaugurated president of the United States likely spent the night at Samuel Penfield's Sun Tavern on his tour surveying damage from the Revolutionary War. , The destruction from the 1779 burning was so widespread that it was still evident ten years later when Washington wrote: "The destructive evidences of British cruelty are yet visible both in Norwalk and Fairfield, as there are chimneys of many burnt houses standing in them yet." , Sun Tavern was among a handful of taverns in town that were newly built at that time, replacing structures that had been destroyed by the British. , At the time, it took two days to travel from New York to Fairfield by carriage on the Boston Post Road, so travelers needed a place to stay overnight and refresh their horses. The Sun Tavern was a lively establishment where Samuel Penfield provided much needed food, drink and lodging. , Sun Tavern was also a popular meeting place for lawyers and judges attending court next door. Local farmers and sea captains, along with mill and shop owners would have enjoyed a beer or cider and a plate of oysters here as well. , The Sun Tavern closed its doors by 1818. Over the next 160 years the building became a private residence to pastors of First Congregational Church, New York City businessmen and a stage actor and his family, who used it primarily as a summer getaway. By the 1970s, the structure had fallen into disrepair. , ( photo captions ) , This postcard from the early 1900s shows the Sun Tavern when it was a private residence. The front porch and west wing were added in the mid 1800s. In 1978 the town purchased the house, and together with the Fairfield Museum, conducted a multi-year restoration., Western view of the Buckley Tavern Fairfield. There were many competing establishments in town. Buckley Tavern, located nearby on the Green, survived the British burning, only to be torn down in the 1830s. , image: John Barber, Buckley Tavern, c. 1836. Courtesy of the Connecticut Historical Society Museum