Merchants and Drovers Tavern

	Merchants and Drovers Tavern
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	New Jersey Register of Historic Places
	The Merchants and Drovers Tavern in fall of 2011
Location	1632 Saint Georges Avenue, Rahway, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°36′59″N 74°17′9″W / 40.61639°N 74.28583°W
Built	1773
NRHP reference No.	78001801
NJRHP No.	2712
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 21, 1978
Designated NJRHP	April 4, 1975

The Merchants and Drovers Tavern is located at 1632 Saint Georges Avenue in the city of Rahway in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The historic tavern was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1978, for its significance in architecture, commerce, and transportation.^[1]^[3]

The exact construction dates of the building have been the source of some historical debate. An analysis of samples of the building's wooden frame conducted by Columbia University's Lamont Dougherty Earth Sciences Observatory found that there were two distinct periods of construction – one in 1795–1796, then another in 1818–1819. The claim that the building did not exist until 1795 at the earliest is further supported by the fact that the first innkeeper, John Anderson, did not receive a tavern license until 1798, after the initial period of construction.^[4] It only began operation as a hotel around 1825, after the recent addition turned the two and a half story building into a three and a half story one.^[5]

In the 1960s, the Rahway Historical Society formed and saved the historic building from destruction by purchasing it and transforming it into the center for historical interpretation that it is today.^[6] The Museum is presently looked after by The Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association. Throughout most of the 2000s, the Tavern underwent significant restoration efforts. In September 2021, the Museum announced on its website that the second phase of the Restoring Our Legacy Campaign has been completed and Phase III is underway. Phase II saw the restoration of the second, third, and fourth floors of the building as well as the front facade.^[7]

The tavern is adjacent to the Rahway Cemetery. The Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association (MDTMA) runs historic tours and talks, including on the Victorian-era murder known as The Unknown Woman or Rahway Jane Doe.

In 2017, the cast of the hit paranormal reality series Ghost Hunters held a fundraiser for the museum.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System – (#78001801)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Union County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. March 25, 2024. p. 10. listed as the Merchants and Drovers Tavern
^ Detwiller, Charles H. (October 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Merchants' and Drovers' Tavern". National Park Service. With accompanying 3 photos
^ Richard F. Veit, Digging New Jersey’s Past: Historical Archaeology in the Garden State (Piscataway, New Jersey, USA, 2002) pp. 18-19.
^ New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, ‘’99 Annual Report’ p. 3. DOI: https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3SF2WZS (27 Oct. 2021).
^ New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, ‘’99 Annual Report’ p. 4. DOI: https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3SF2WZS (27 Oct. 2021).
^ Merchant and Drovers Tavern Museum, ‘The Front Façade Restoration is Complete’ (https://www.merchantsanddrovers.org/preservation/) (27 Oct. 2021).
^ Sylvester, McKella. "SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters' raising funds to restore historical location". Courier News.

External links

Media related to Merchants and Drovers Tavern at Wikimedia Commons
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NJ-36, "Merchant & Drovers Tavern, Saint George's & Westfield Avenues, Rahway, Union County, NJ", 6 photos, 12 measured drawings, 3 data pages
Official website Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum
"Merchants and Drovers Tavern – 1780". Historical Marker Database.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System – (#78001801)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[NJRHP-2] "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Union County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. March 25, 2024. p. 10. listed as the Merchants and Drovers Tavern

[nrhpdoc-3] Detwiller, Charles H. (October 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Merchants' and Drovers' Tavern". National Park Service. With accompanying 3 photos

[4] Richard F. Veit, Digging New Jersey’s Past: Historical Archaeology in the Garden State (Piscataway, New Jersey, USA, 2002) pp. 18-19.

[5] New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, ‘’99 Annual Report’ p. 3. DOI: https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3SF2WZS (27 Oct. 2021).

[6] New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, ‘’99 Annual Report’ p. 4. DOI: https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3SF2WZS (27 Oct. 2021).

[7] Merchant and Drovers Tavern Museum, ‘The Front Façade Restoration is Complete’ (https://www.merchantsanddrovers.org/preservation/) (27 Oct. 2021).

[8] Sylvester, McKella. "SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters' raising funds to restore historical location". Courier News.

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v t e National Register of Historic Places in Union County, New Jersey
Landmarks	Baltusrol Golf Club Boxwood Hall William Livingston House
Districts	Belcher–Ogden Mansion; Benjamin Price House; and Price–Brittan House Historic District Cedar Brook Park Crescent Area Historic District Fanwood Park Historic District Feltville Historic District Green Brook Park Hillside Avenue Historic District Mid-Town Historic District North Avenue Commercial District Plainfield Civic District Stoneleigh Park Historic District Summit Downtown Historic District Van Wyck Brooks Historic District
Places of worship	All Souls Church First Congregation of the Presbyterian Church at Springfield First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth First Presbyterian Congregation of Connecticut Farms Grace Episcopal Church Saint Mary's Catholic Church Complex Scotch Plains Baptist Church, Parsonage, and Cemetery Wallace Chapel AME Zion Church
Houses	Badgley House and Site Belcher–Ogden House Caldwell Parsonage Crane-Phillips House John De Camp House Nathaniel Drake House Charles N. Fowler House Elizabeth and Gershom Frazee House Deacon Andrew Hetfield House Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge Hutchings Homestead Littel–Lord Farmstead Miller-Cory House Oswald J. Nitschke House Old Baptist Parsonage William Edgar Reeve House Sayre Homestead Seventeenth Century Clark House Nathaniel Smith House St. John's Parsonage George A. Strong House James Townley House Twin Maples Orville T. Waring House Whyman House Woodruff House
Buildings	Droescher's Mill Elizabeth Station Fanwood Station Firehouse No. 4 Merchants and Drovers Tavern Murray Hill Station Netherwood Station Plainfield Central Fire Headquarters Plainfield Masonic Temple Plainfield Station Rahway Theatre Scotch Plains School Shady Rest Golf and Country Club Stage House Inn Summit Playhouse Union County Park Commission Administration Buildings Westfield Fire Headquarters Young Women's Christian Association of Plainfield and North Plainfield
Sites	Burial Ground of the Presbyterian Church in the West Fields of Elizabethtown Evergreen Cemetery Reeves-Reed Arboretum
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Union County, New Jersey and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey

See also

References

External links