Hanover Tavern

Hanover County · dedicated 2012 · 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road

John Shelton opened the first tavern at the permanent site of Hanover Courthouse about the 1750s. The current tavern's earliest segment dates from about 1791. The tavern prospered with the establishment of the stage coach line until the railroad diverted business in the 1830s. An essential component of the social life of Hanover County, the taverns attracted many important people, including Patrick Henry, Lord Cornwallis, and George Washington, among others. Several enslaved African Americans from the tavern complex were accused of participation in both Gabriel’s Rebellion of 1800 and the Easter Plot of 1802. In 1953, the Barksdale Theater was established here.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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More markers nearby

The Fields Familyunder 1 mi
John Henry Smyth--(14 July 1844-5 Sept. 1908)1 mi
Cornwallis's Route1 mi
Caroline County/Hanover County2 mi

On the National Register nearby

Hanover County Courthouse Historic District130 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.