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Munroe Tavern
Open daily June 1 through October, 12 noon to 4 p.m.
Open weekends April through June 1, 12 noon to 4 p.m
The Munroe Tavern is located one mile east of Lexington Common. On the afternoon of April 19, 1775, the tavern served as the headquarters for Brigadier General Earl Percy and his one thousand reinforcements.
The British occupied the tavern for one and one-half hours. During this time the dining room was converted into a field hospital while the weary British soldiers consumed liberal quantities of food and drink. A bullet hole still visible in the ceiling of the taproom is a reminder of the disorderly conduct of these uninvited guests. Despite this unruliness, Earl Percy was firmly in control of the situation: he would later write with little exaggeration that in taking command of Lieutenant Colonel Smith’s beleaguered men at Munroe Tavern, “I had the happiness of saving them from inevitable destruction.” Munroe Tavern is one of only two buildings now open to the public associated with the British retreat: it is especially noteworthy because the arrival of Percy’s reinforcements on the now beautifully preserved grounds marked an important turning point in the day’s fighting.
Built in the early 1700′s, the tavern is named for William Munroe, orderly sergeant of Captain Parker’s minuteman company in 1775. Munroe served as tavern proprietor from 1770 to 1827. Many family articles from this period are on display in the tavern, including an eighteenth century tavern sign and a fine wooden tricorn hat box dating from the Revolutionary period. President Washington dined at the Munroe Tavern when he visited the Lexington battlefield in 1789; an upstairs room contains the table at which Washington sat, and documents relating to his trip.
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