White Horse Tavern (Newport, Rhode Island)

The tavern in 2009

English immigrant Francis Brindley constructed the original building on the site in 1652 on land obtained from his brother-in-law William Coddington.[2] In 1673, he sold the lot to William Mayes, who enlarged the building to become a tavern.[2] It was also used for large meetings, including as a Rhode Island General Assembly meeting place, a courthouse, and a city hall.[2] William Mayes obtained a tavern license in 1687, and his son William Mayes, Jr. operated it through the early eighteenth century.[2] The operation was named "The White Horse Tavern" in 1730 by owner Jonathan Nichols.[2]

Tories and British troops were quartered there during the British occupation of Newport in the American Revolution, around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island.[2] Newport's Van Bueren family donated money to the private Preservation Society of Newport to restore the building in 1952, after years of neglect as a boarding house.[2] After the restoration, it was sold and once again operated as a private tavern and restaurant,[2] and it remains a popular drinking and dining location today.[3]

• List of the oldest restaurants in the United States
• Oldest buildings in America
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island
• List of the oldest buildings in Rhode Island
• List of oldest companies
• List of oldest companies in the United States