HADDONFIELD, NJ ‒ An 18th century traveler through the southern part of New Jersey might stop at the Indian King, a respite on a long journey along Kings Highway, then and now a main thoroughfare connecting several towns.
At the Indian King, that traveler could find a hot meal and a pint of beer or hard cider. They could read the local newspapers, at a time before they were delivered to people's homes. A bed for the night ‒ cozy and warm, even if though they might find themselves sharing it with a stranger if the inn was particularly busy.
And, if it was the mid-1770s, that traveler might also hear talk of Revolution, men recruiting others to join the militia fighting the British, and for a time, the newly-formed state Legislature as members met in secret in an upstairs room, safe from the occupying forces further north.
"Taverns were the center of civic discourse," said Michelle Hughes, a historian with what is now called The Indian King Tavern and Museum, in the center of a historic town with quaint shops, Colonial- and Victorian-era architecture and tree-lined streets not far from Philadelphia.
"There really weren't a lot of other places like that" in the Revolutionary era, "so taverns were also a hotbed of debate" between those loyal to the Crown and the people who wanted to break away from England and establish American independence, she said.
