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Taverns
The tavern was the informal gathering
place for a village. It was a place where local people met for food, drinks, and
gossip. Travelers found the tavern to be a place where a bed
Works Cited: History of the usa. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 03, 2005, from Founding Fathers. Info Web site: http://www.usahistory.info/colonial/customs.html. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 26, 2005, from http://www.michietavern.com/ Web site: http://www.michietavern.com/images/dining.jpg. Tavern Keeper A colonial tavern keeper was an important part of the city because he provided food and shelter for wandering travelers. A few things a tavern keeper does, for a fee, are runs a tavern, makes room and board available, and supplies people with food. A tavern keeper had to have many special talents for his job. One of the talents a tavern keeper had to hold was how to manage money and be good at mathematics. He also had to know how much things cost, and how much money they had. One other talent he had to have was good hygiene. He had to keep clean floors, plates, utensils, back houses (toilets) and cups. He needed to know how to keep beds, and tie off ropes (refer back to middle of 2nd paragraph). Along with that, a tavern keeper needed to know how to treat special customers, and hire employees. They also had to know how to prepare and serve food, use taps and how much water to put in the beer. Works Cited: O, B.
(2002). Tavern. Retrieved Feb. 26, 2005, from
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/forestoakms/site%20pages/ Hampton
roads history tour. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 26, 2005, from
historichamptonroads.com Web site:
http://www.historichamptonroads.com/images/PostCards/hist_
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could be had for
the night, their horses could be stabled, and their own stomachs filled. Inside
the tavern you could discuss everything from politics to religion. The tavern
keeper sold food, rum, small beers, and cider used freely by men, women, and children. The tavern keeper was usually a jolly man, great in importance, often
a chief man; member of the town council. His store was next to the clerk's
store. He could be a school master, land agent, surveyor, a man of good
character, and was not allowed to sell strong drinks to drunkards. The tavern is
probably the best place to hangout and relax.
A
tavern keeper needs a variety of tools to run his business. One example is tools
for board (food), such as beer mugs, taps, plates, utensils, platters, for a
large meal, bowls, trays, barrels, for storing wine or beer, tables, chairs, and
enough food for at least the whole town. Another example was tools for rooms
such as covers, pillows, and a bed frame. Believe it or not when parents say
“sleep tight” it comes from when instead of fluffy cotton beds people in
colonial times slept on ropes held in place by a wooden bed frame, (mentioned
earlier in this paragraph) and you tighten the ropes until they give you enough
support to sleep on them. This was similar to a cot today. In addition the
tavern keeper needed a building. The building was its own structure, not
combined with another, with usually two or more floors. The second floor and up
were used for sleeping, while the first floor, or lobby, was for eating or
drinking. Also a tavern keeper had to keep the place clean so he needed tools
like mops, buckets, sponges, and brooms.