See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on Google This Fourth of July, patriots can raise their glasses to the nation’s 250th birthday with a pub crawl retracing the actual steps of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and John Jay and other Founding Fathers.
Emmy Award-winning TV travel host Darley Newman visited sites in the original 13 colonies with a connection to the American Revolution for her PBS show, “ Travels with Darley ,” and came to a spirited conclusion.
“I discovered something history class never really covered: the Founding Fathers partied hard. And, you can still visit the places where they shared a pint or potent punch,” said Newman, whose book “ Revolutionary Road Trip ,” is out on June 30.
“Taverns during the Revolutionary era weren’t just places to eat and drink,” explained the Upper West Sider. “They were gathering spaces where revolutionaries debated politics, traded news, planned strategy and celebrated victories — often over rum punch, ale, whiskey and hearty comfort food.”
Here are some watering holes in NY and NJ where you can step back into the American Revolution:
Fraunces Tavern — Financial District , NYC
Washington famously gave his farewell address to his troops in 1783 at this downtown gin mill, which opened in 1762 on Pearl Street. Post founder Alexander Hamilton dined with Aaron Burr at Fraunces Tavern , which is now part museum-part pub, a week prior to their infamous duel across the river in Weehawken. Samuel Adams, John Hancock and John Jay also frequented Fraunces, the oldest surviving building in Manhattan, built in 1719. Ahead of his time, Washington even ordered takeout there. “He was an early NYC Door Dasher,” Newman said. To honor America’s 250th anniversary, Fraunces is serving up a three-course colonial dinner with dishes such as braised rabbit legs, stuffed quail crépine, and cherry trifle. The FiDi tavern also serves presidential punch, a mix of rye, orange liqueur, rum, bitters, lemon juice and peach iced tea, a nod to what the Founding Fathers quaffed in the 18th century.
Revolutionary War hero Alexander Bryan bought the Olde Bryan Inn, originally a log cabin, in 1787. During the Revolutionary War, it was frequented by both American and British troops. “There are stories that Bryan shared information for the Patriots and kind of spied on the British, and the information he gave helped lead to the win at the Battle of Saratoga, which was the turning point of the American Revolution,” Newman explained. “On my visit, the owner shared Revolutionary artifacts uncovered during renovations, like shards of pottery, pipe and old rusty nails,” she said.
Washington and his wife, Martha, both made stops at Baird’s, one of the oldest taverns along the Hudson, which dates back to 1766. “According to George Washington’s diary, he stopped here in 1783 and ‘had a grog’ [watered-down rum] when he was Commander of the Continental Army at Newburgh. According to a local tale, Martha stayed the night in 1786 on her way to visit George,” the Orange County website states . “There’s even a gold plaque outside of the room on the second floor where it’s thought that Martha stayed, complete with a canopy bed from the 1780s,” Newman said. Baird’s was built on the King’s Highway…