Middletown's Bigelow Tavern

Today there stands a police station and a restaurant on Main Street that was originally the Bigelow Tavern.

Recorded in ``History of Middlesex County: 1635-1885,'' published by J.B. Beers & Co. of New York. It contains a map of Middletown's Main Street from 1790 to 1800. It lists six shipmasters; five farmers; four merchants; three residences and joiners (carpenters who did interior finish work by joining pieces of wood); two tanners, shoemakers, sea captains and slave dealers; and a constable, barber, rope maker, doctor, silversmith, trader, hotel, town clerk, saddler, hatter, apothecary, parson, and an ironworks.

The map also showed four taverns or tavern keepers: Easter Wetmore Tavern at the north end near what is now St. John's Square; tavern keeper Elisha Brewster on the west side between Washington and Court streets and Ephrain Fenno Tavern between Henshaw Lane and South Green, also on the west side.

On the east side between Court Street and Parsonage Lane was Timothy Bigelow's Tavern. Bigelow's was the city's main place of entertainment. It was a tavern from 1760 until 1826, when it was converted to retail space. George Washington was said to have visited Bigelow's.

Beers also listed several hotels, including the Washington House, which opened in 1812 in the home of Middletown's first mayor, Jabez Hamlin. It closed in 1835.

Comfort Sage remained a close friend of George Washington, and many years after the war, he entertained Washington at his home in Middletown. The president had a noontime dinner at Middletown in the Bigelow Tavern, operated by Elizabeth Clark Bigelow, widow of Timothy Bigelow. (The tavern was torn down in 1826). The president then visited with General Sage and his wife, Sarah Hamlin Sage.

Housed in the same building today at the right of the Police station is the First and Last Tavern; a small local chain restaurant/bar: http://www.firstandlastmiddletown.com/