Buckman Tavern

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buckman Tavern is a historic Revolutionary War site associated with the revolution's very first battle, the Battle of Lexington and Concord. It is located on the Green in Lexington, Massachusetts and operated as a museum by the Lexington Historical Society.

The Tavern was built about 1690 by Benjamin Muzzey (April 16, 1657 - March 28, 1735), and with license granted in 1693 was the first Public House in Lexington. Muzzey ran it for years, then his son John, and then at the time of the battle it was run by John's granddaughter and her husband John Buckman, a member of the Lexington Minuteman Company. In those years the tavern was a favorite gathering place for minutemen on days when they trained on the Lexington Green.

The Battle of Lexington and Concord took form before dawn on April 19, 1775 as several dozen minutemen gathered in the Tavern to await the British troops' arrival. Definite word reached them just before sunrise, and Captain Parker's company of minutemen left the tavern to assemble in two long lines on the common. Following the arrival of the British, a single shot was fired: with this shot the American Revolution began.

Although best known as the headquarters of the minutemen, Buckman Tavern is also noteworthy as perhaps the busiest of Lexington's 18th century taverns. It housed the first village store in Lexington, and later, in 1812, the first town post office.

The Tavern's interior appears today very much as it did in 1775 and one can see the restored 18th-century taproom with large fireplace and central chimney. Among the many items on display is the old front door, with its bullet hole made by a British musket ball during the battle, and a portrait of John Buckman.