Book Description

Inns and taverns occupied a position of central importance in colonial American society. Rest stop, hotel, provisioning center, drinking saloon, dining establishment, center of news and gossip, quartering for soldiers--these retreats served an astonishing variety of roles. In Colonial Inns and Taverns of Bucks County, author Marie Duess filters the colonial and early modern history of Bucks County through the area's wide array of stagecoach stops, grog shops and taprooms. These inns created a whole world unto themselves, with a distinct vernacular (did you know the concepts of "backlog" and "minding your Ps and Qs" both originated from inn life?), set of customs and rituals and purpose within the greater societal framework. Follow author Marie Duess into the past and discover a fascinating facet of life in early Pennsylvania.