> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.newbostonpost.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 8 Historic Massachusetts Inns And Taverns Where You Can Still Get A Good Meal - URL: https://www.newbostonpost.com/8-historic-massachusetts-inns-and-taverns-where-you-can-still-get-a-good-meal/ - Published: 2026-11-04T13:10:53.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T13:10:53.000Z - Description: Step into the past with a tour of 10 historic taverns in Massachusetts where Revolutionary War patriots once gathered. Learn the stories—and the meals—that still honor 1776. - Author: Abigail Hawthorne - Tags: Blogs Massachusetts has plenty of places where a meal comes with a history lesson. Some restaurants occupy buildings that stood before the American Revolution. Others carry on the names and traditions of early inns that housed travelers along the state’s old roads. Here are eight historic inns and taverns across Massachusetts where visitors can still sit down for a meal. **1\. Warren Tavern — Charlestown** The [Warren Tavern](https://www.warrentavern.com/history?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ dates to 1780, when Charlestown was rebuilding after British forces burned much of the town during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Its name honors Dr. Joseph Warren, who died in the 1775 battle. The tavern lists Paul Revere among its past guests and says George Washington visited in 1789. Today, visitors can stop for lunch or dinner near the Bunker Hill Monument. The [restaurant](https://www.warrentavern.com/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ serves shepherd’s pie and clam chowder, among other dishes. **2\. Longfellow’s Wayside Inn — Sudbury** [Longfellow’s Wayside Inn](https://www.wayside.org/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ traces its innkeeping history to 1716, when the Howe family began welcoming travelers along the Old Boston Post Road. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited in 1862 and published *Tales of a Wayside Inn* the following year, according to the [Framingham History Center](https://www.framinghamhistory.org/framinghamhistory/Default/exhibit1/e10014a.htm?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. The inn still offers [meals and overnight stays](https://www.wayside.org/dine-stay?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. Visitors can also walk the grounds, which the Wayside Inn Foundation maintains as part of a property with nine historic buildings. **3\. Red Lion Inn — Stockbridge** The [Red Lion Inn’s history](https://www.redlioninn.com/history?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ begins with a tavern that, according to local tradition, Silas Pepoon opened in 1773. The inn says residents from several towns gathered there in July 1774 to protest British policies and pledge a boycott of British goods. Fire destroyed the old hotel in August 1896\. Its replacement opened in May 1897, so today’s guests enter a later building at a site with colonial roots. The inn’s [dining options](https://www.redlioninn.com/dining?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ include its main dining room and Widow Bingham’s Tavern. Visitors can eat there without booking an overnight stay. **4\. Concord’s Colonial Inn — Concord** [Concord’s Colonial Inn](https://concordscolonialinn.com/about/history/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ dates its original structure to 1716\. It says one of the buildings that became part of the inn stored arms and supplies in 1775. British troops marched to Concord to destroy military supplies that April. Colonial forces fought them at the North Bridge on April 19. The inn as it operates today began in 1889 and took its current name in 1900. Visitors can now eat in several [dining spaces](https://concordscolonialinn.com/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠, including the Village Forge Tavern, or use the inn as a base for exploring Concord’s historic sites. **5\. Bull Run Restaurant — Shirley** The [Bull Run Restaurant](https://www.bullrunrestaurant.com/aboutus?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ traces its tavern history to 1740 and innkeeper Obadiah Sawtelle. Travelers stopped here along the Great Road, a stagecoach route between Boston and Albany. Its taproom still has old barrel tables and a mural called *Drunkard’s Progress*. Today, the Bull Run combines a [restaurant](https://www.bullrunrestaurant.com/restaurant?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ with a live music venue. Guests can book a meal in the tavern or eat during a show. Concert tickets and meals carry separate charges, according to the restaurant’s [visitor information](https://www.bullrunrestaurant.com/faqs?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. **6\. Publick House Historic Inn — Sturbridge** Ebenezer Crafts opened the [Publick House](https://publickhouse.com/about-us/history/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ in 1771 to serve townspeople and travelers along the Boston Post Road. The inn still welcomes overnight guests and diners. Its Historic Tap Room occupies the original dining room, with a beam ceiling, wide floorboards and a large fireplace. The [dining menu](https://publickhouse.com/dining/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ includes roast turkey dinners and Yankee pot roast. Visitors can also eat at Ebenezer’s Tavern or stop at the Bake Shoppe for pecan sweet rolls. **7\. Sun Tavern — Duxbury** The [Sun Tavern](https://www.suntavernrestaurant.com/history-of-the-sun-tavern/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ occupies a former home whose front section dates to 1741. The restaurant took the Sun Tavern name in 1987\. Its history includes Lysander Walker, a former resident whom a newspaper once described as Duxbury’s last hermit. Today, the restaurant offers dinner in the old farmhouse, with a fireplace sitting area and several dining rooms. Its [menu](https://www.suntavernrestaurant.com/our-menu/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ includes baked cod and braised lamb shank, along with burgers and other pub food. **8\. Hitchcock Tavern — West Brookfield** Readers may know this spot by its former name, Ye Olde Tavern. Captain David Hitchcock built the tavern in 1760, according to the [Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism](https://www.visitma.com/central-massachusetts-historic-trail/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. Owners Cindy and Roger Larson brought back the Hitchcock Tavern name when they reopened the restaurant in 2023 after repairs and renovations, the [Spencer New Leader reported](https://linpub.blob.core.windows.net/pdf/2/db1dc7b8-aa4b-4312-bd11-b52e1e699402.pdf?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. The state tourism office lists it as a dining stop on its Central Massachusetts Historic Trail. Check each restaurant’s current hours and reservation rules before making the trip. *This article was written by Abigail Hawthorne, an AI created and trained daily by NewBostonPost on New England news, values, and culture. She does not exist — but her convictions do.*