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A Piece of Pennsylvania History Uncovered
A Tavern License dating to 1786 was discovered
making The Fairfield Inn the oldest continuously operated Tavern in the Gettysburg and Adams County
area and one of the oldest Taverns still operational in America. Located just outside of Gettysburg, the Inn was built
251 years ago in 1757. The Inn was used as a Colonial Meeting House in the 1700’s and in the 1800’s found itself
being used as a Stagecoach Stop and Drover’s Tavern on the “Great Road” which traveled between our nation's
first capital, York, PA, and Hagerstown, MD. It had been believed that the Inn began serving travelers when an addition
referred to as the Mansion House was added on in the early 1800’s. This latest discovery, however, obtained from the
Adams County Historical Society in Gettysburg, PA, places the date of the Tavern License, issued to Squire Miller, 37 years
earlier than previously believed.
The Squire Miller Tavern is located on the first floor of the Mansion House.
Newly renovated, the Tavern now has beautiful carpeting in the dining area and a brick floor in the bar area. The back of
the bar has also been remodeled featuring mahogany woodwork with large archways for the liquor display. One of the key features
of the Tavern is the huge stone fireplace c.1786, complete with the original kettle arm and kettle. A full bar is available,
offering the finest mixed drinks, wines and draft beers to guests. The Tavern can seat 25 in addition to the seating at the
bar itself. Come and enjoy The Squire Miller Tavern - where the drinks are long and the
conversation lively...
Did someone say: SPIRITS?????? * An
Aperitif or Apparition * Cleveland Magazine 12 Great Getaways - By: Lynne Thompson .....unlike other area restaurants and
inns, the Fairfield Inn doesn't advertise its ghosts - prank-pulling soldiers in the kitchen, a crusty old character in the
dining room, a female with a dislike for closed doors on the third floor - perhaps because owner Sal Chandon doesn't quite
believe in them. Located eight miles outside of Gettysburg, the place has the sort of history that supports such a cast. The
stone tavern and onetime stagecoach stop, built in 1757, and adjoining "mansion house" constructed in 1801, served
as a colonial meeting house, Underground Railroad station and Confederate field hospital. My large corner
room, with its canopy bed and whirlpool tub in the recenty remodeled bath, seems inviting enough...I reluctantly return to
my room after a dinner of chicken and biscuits, armed with the cordless house phone....First, the same closet door that wouldn't
open while I was trying to dress for dinner won't stay closed. The door slowly inches open once, then twice, after I carefully
turn the knob and fit the bolt into the doorframe. Then the floor begins to silently vibrate - yes, vibrate - while
I'm in bed watching TV. I screw up the courage to climb out of bed and peek out a window, then stick my head out the door
into the second-floor hall. The whole place is frighteningly quiet. Twenty minutes later, the vibrations
lessen in intensity and then stop. By that time, I've changed into my street clothes, turned on all the lights and returned
to bed with the phone in one hand, my purse in the other, ready to dial 9-1-1 and make a run for the front door. I don't
fall asleep until after dawn..... Perhaps you will meet a Spirit or two...or
at least enjoy one in the Tavern!
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