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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallIf you want the single strongest national answer, it is Newport’s White Horse Tavern, which dates to 1673. But “America’s oldest bar” is not an officially adjudicated title. Depending on the source, the relevant date may be the construction of a building, the opening of an inn or tavern, the beginning of alcohol service, continuous operation at one address, or a later revival after war, Prohibition, abandonment, or restoration.
This ranking runs from newest to oldest using the earliest defensible date tied to each present establishment or documented tavern tradition. The wording matters: some entries are continuously operating businesses, some are historic buildings with later bar service, and others preserve a tavern tradition that was interrupted or substantially revived.
Quick ranking: America’s oldest bars and taverns
| Rank | Venue | Location | Earliest date used | What the date represents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Molly’s Shebeen Pub and Restaurant | New York, New York | 1895 | Premises; bar service began later |
| 15 | Scholz Garten | Austin, Texas | 1866 | Opening of the beer garden |
| 14 | McGillin’s Olde Ale House | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1860 | Opening and continuous pub tradition |
| 13 | McSorley’s Old Ale House | New York, New York | 1854 | Opening of the alehouse |
| 12 | Warren Tavern | Charlestown, Massachusetts | 1780 | Construction of the tavern |
| 11 | The Tavern | Abingdon, Virginia | 1779 | Opening of the tavern |
| 10 | The Griswold Inn | Essex, Connecticut | 1776 | Inn and tavern tradition |
| 9 | The Horse You Came In On Saloon | Baltimore, Maryland | 1775 | Earlier Fountain Inn at the site |
| 8 | The Pirate’s House | Savannah, Georgia | 1753 | Historic inn and tavern tradition |
| 7 | The Old ’76 House | Tappan, New York | c. 1753–1754 | Surviving colonial tavern building |
| 6 | Middleton Tavern | Annapolis, Maryland | 1750 | Opening as an inn |
| 5 | Red Fox Inn & Tavern | Middleburg, Virginia | 1728 | Early tavern tradition |
| 4 | Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar | New Orleans, Louisiana | 1722–1732 | Age of the building |
| 3 | Tavern at Rainbow Row | Charleston, South Carolina | 1686 claim | Early seafarer’s tavern tradition |
| 2 | King George II Inn | Bristol, Pennsylvania | 1681 | Ferry house and business continuity |
| 1 | White Horse Tavern | Newport, Rhode Island | 1673 | Operating tavern tradition |
16. Molly’s Shebeen Pub and Restaurant — New York, New York — 1895
Molly’s Shebeen traces its premises to 1895, placing it at the top—or newest end—of this list. The important qualification is that the location did not become a bar until 1960, according to Wine Enthusiast. It is therefore better described as a historic New York drinking venue associated with an older premises than as a bar that has served customers continuously since 1895.
Its strongest physical links to the past are the original mahogany bar and wood-burning fireplace. Those features give Molly’s a genuine historic identity, even though the current bar history is considerably shorter than the age of the address.
Claim type: historic premises with later bar service; not a documented bar continuously operating since 1895.
15. Scholz Garten — Austin, Texas — 1866
August Scholz, a German immigrant and Civil War veteran, founded Scholz Garten in 1866. The Austin institution is widely presented as Texas’s oldest bar and as the oldest beer garden in the United States.
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The name reflects more than a drinking establishment. Scholz Garten’s identity combines German immigrant history, beer-garden culture, food, and Austin’s political and civic life. That broader role is typical of older American taverns, which often functioned as meeting places as much as places to drink.
Claim type: a long-running beer garden and bar founded in 1866, with a particularly strong Texas “oldest bar” claim.
14. McGillin’s Olde Ale House — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — 1860
McGillin’s opened in 1860 and is recognized as Philadelphia’s oldest continuously operating pub or tavern. Its claim is stronger than one based only on an old building: the establishment’s liquor-license history provides unusually tangible documentation for a long-running bar business.
McGillin’s also survived Prohibition and other major interruptions in American urban life. “Continuously operating” should not be mistaken for “unchanged.” The pub’s survival through changing laws, ownership, neighborhoods, and clientele is precisely what makes the continuity claim meaningful.
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Claim type: one of the best-documented continuous pub or tavern operations in the country, dating to 1860.
13. McSorley’s Old Ale House — New York, New York — 1854
McSorley’s opened around 1854, originally under the name The Old House at Home. It remains one of New York City’s best-known historic alehouses, recognized for its dark interior, accumulated memorabilia, and long association with writers and working-class New York.
Unlike entries whose oldest date belongs mainly to a building, McSorley’s is remembered as an alehouse founded in the mid-nineteenth century. Its fame rests as much on atmosphere and cultural continuity as on the number itself: the interior and objects collected over generations are part of the experience.
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Claim type: an alehouse tradition dating to about 1854.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors12. Warren Tavern — Charlestown, Massachusetts — 1780
Warren Tavern was constructed in 1780, after Charlestown was burned during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Its official history says the tavern has welcomed visitors for nearly 250 years, including George Washington and Paul Revere, and confirms that it remains open today.
The date here is tied primarily to the surviving tavern building and its subsequent use. That makes Warren Tavern a useful example of why America’s oldest-bar question cannot be answered by counting only uninterrupted alcohol service: the structure itself is part of the historical claim.
Claim type: an operating historic tavern in a building constructed in 1780.
11. The Tavern — Abingdon, Virginia — 1779
VinePair identifies The Tavern in Abingdon as Virginia’s oldest bar, dating to 1779. Its history also shows why early American taverns mattered beyond drinking. The building served at different times as a post office, an inn, and a Civil War-era hospital.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Those changing uses were not unusual. Taverns often sat at the center of travel and communication networks, providing lodging, food, drink, mail, and news. The Tavern’s history preserves that multipurpose civic role particularly clearly.
Claim type: a 1779 tavern tradition and a major historic building, with a state-level oldest-bar claim.
10. The Griswold Inn — Essex, Connecticut — 1776
The Griswold Inn was founded in 1776 and is described by the town of Essex and Historic Hotels of America as one of the oldest continuously operated inns in the United States. Its Tap Room, restaurant, lodging, and live entertainment keep the historic inn connected to the tavern tradition.
“Inn” is the more historically precise primary designation here. It belongs on a list of old American bars because its Tap Room and restaurant continue that hospitality tradition, but the strongest claim is not that a modern standalone bar has operated without interruption since 1776.
Claim type: a continuously operated inn with a current tap room and restaurant, founded in 1776.
9. The Horse You Came In On Saloon — Baltimore, Maryland — 1775
The building associated with The Horse You Came In On was established as the Fountain Inn in 1775 in Baltimore’s Fell’s Point. That gives the site an eighteenth-century tavern tradition, but it does not mean the present saloon—under its current name and ownership—has operated unchanged since 1775.
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This is an important distinction between a historic address and a continuous business. The honest version of the claim is that the current saloon occupies a site connected with an earlier inn, not that today’s branded establishment is the same uninterrupted operation as the Fountain Inn.
Claim type: an eighteenth-century tavern site with a later saloon identity.
8. The Pirate’s House — Savannah, Georgia — 1753
The Pirate’s House site became an inn and tavern for sailors around 1753. Its name and folklore have made it one of Savannah’s most recognizable historic drinking destinations, but its operational history is not a simple uninterrupted line.
The official history records that the historic building fell into disuse after World War II, faced the threat of demolition, and reopened as a tea room in 1953. That interruption makes “America’s oldest continuously operating bar” too strong. The more defensible description is a historic site with an eighteenth-century inn-and-tavern tradition that was later revived.
Claim type: historic tavern site and revived venue, not continuous bar operation from 1753.
7. The Old ’76 House — Tappan, New York — circa 1753–1754
The Old ’76 House is a surviving colonial-era tavern and restaurant in Tappan. Its current website describes it as a three-hundred-year-old restored structure and confirms that it remains open for dining. Historical references generally associate the present tavern building with the middle of the eighteenth century, commonly around 1753 or 1754.
The building’s age and the current restaurant’s operational continuity are separate claims. The Old ’76 House is best treated as a remarkably old surviving tavern structure that continues to welcome diners, rather than definitively as America’s oldest continuously operating bar.
Claim type: a restored colonial tavern building dating to approximately 1753–1754, with a current restaurant operation.
6. Middleton Tavern — Annapolis, Maryland — 1750
Horatio Middleton established Middleton Tavern in 1750 as an inn for seafaring travelers. The tavern’s official history connects it with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and other figures of the Revolutionary era.
Today, Middleton Tavern operates as a restaurant and tavern on Annapolis’s City Dock. Its location helps explain its original purpose: waterfront inns served travelers, sailors, merchants, and officials moving through an important port. The present venue preserves that connection while operating in a modern restaurant format.
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Claim type: a 1750 inn and tavern tradition that remains active as a restaurant and tavern.
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5. Red Fox Inn & Tavern — Middleburg, Virginia — 1728
Red Fox Inn & Tavern dates its establishment to 1728 and remains open as an inn, restaurant, and tavern. Its long history is closely tied to Middleburg’s position along early travel routes and to the role of inns as places for lodging, meals, drink, and local exchange.
The National Register record treats parts of the early tavern history as traditional and places the current historic development in the same general eighteenth-century context. That makes “one of America’s oldest surviving tavern traditions” the strongest wording. A categorical claim of uninterrupted bar operation from 1728 would go beyond the evidence described here.
Claim type: an operating inn, restaurant, and tavern with an eighteenth-century tradition, founded in 1728.
4. Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar — New Orleans, Louisiana — building dated 1722–1732
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar occupies a structure that its official history dates to between 1722 and 1732. The venue is reputed to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the United States.
The careful version of that claim concerns the building’s age and its longstanding bar identity. The pirate associations connected with Jean Lafitte are partly legend or inference, so they should not be presented as settled fact. Nor does the building date by itself prove that an uninterrupted bar business has operated there since the 1720s.
Claim type: one of the country’s oldest structures used as a bar, dating to 1722–1732; not a fully documented uninterrupted bar record from that period.
3. Tavern at Rainbow Row — Charleston, South Carolina — 1686 claim
Tavern at Rainbow Row is associated with a seafarer’s tavern at the site as early as 1686. It is also described as one of the country’s oldest liquor stores. The claim draws partly on historic letters, maps, and the site’s later commercial history.
That evidence makes Rainbow Row a compelling contender, but not an uncontested winner. The safest wording is “a present-day venue associated with a 1686 tavern tradition,” rather than a claim that the same bar business has operated continuously for more than three centuries.
Claim type: an early Charleston tavern tradition based on an 1686 claim and later commercial continuity.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.2. King George II Inn — Bristol, Pennsylvania — 1681
King George II Inn traces its origin to a ferry house established by Samuel Clift in 1681. It is widely described as America’s oldest continuously operating inn, and it remains a restaurant and tavern today.
The visible building adds an essential qualification: the 1765 structure replaced the original ferry house. In other words, the business tradition is older than the building currently standing. King George II Inn is one of the clearest examples of why “continuous operation” and “oldest building” should never be treated as interchangeable measurements.
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Claim type: a business and inn tradition dating to 1681, with a later 1765 building and current restaurant-and-tavern operation.
1. White Horse Tavern — Newport, Rhode Island — 1673
White Horse Tavern opened as a tavern in Newport in 1673 and is widely regarded as America’s oldest operating tavern. It is also frequently described as one of the oldest operating restaurants in the world.
That is the strongest overall answer to the question, but even White Horse Tavern’s history needs a footnote. Its official history records a brief interruption during the Revolutionary War era and a major twentieth-century restoration. “Oldest operating tavern tradition” is therefore more precise than suggesting that identical service in the same commercial form continued without interruption every year since 1673.
Today, White Horse Tavern remains open as a restaurant with a bar. Its importance comes from the combination of an early documented tavern opening, a continuing institutional identity, and a present-day operation—not simply from the age of its building.
Claim type: America’s strongest oldest-operating-tavern claim, dating to 1673, with documented interruptions and later restoration.
What this list tells us about early American bars
These venues form a map of how early communities developed. Many stood near ports, ferry crossings, stagecoach routes, colonial roads, and civic centers. A tavern could be an inn, dining room, post office, meeting hall, news exchange, political gathering place, or emergency hospital as well as a place to drink.
The geographic spread also explains why state-level claims can sound stronger than national ones. Scholz Garten is widely identified as Texas’s oldest bar; The Tavern is identified as Virginia’s oldest bar; and McGillin’s has an especially strong Philadelphia continuity claim. Those descriptions can all be valid within their own standards without resolving the national question.
The oldest dates are also not automatically the strongest business-continuity claims. White Horse Tavern’s 1673 date leads the list, but King George II Inn has a particularly clear continuity story beginning with its 1681 ferry house. The Griswold Inn, McGillin’s, and Warren Tavern likewise offer strong combinations of age, documented use, and present-day accessibility for travelers interested in living history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the oldest bar in America?
White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island, has the strongest broad national claim. It opened as a tavern in 1673 and is widely regarded as America’s oldest operating tavern. Its history includes a brief Revolutionary War-era interruption and a major twentieth-century restoration, so “oldest operating tavern tradition” is more accurate than claiming uninterrupted service in exactly the same form since 1673.
Are these all continuously operating bars?
No. The list includes continuously operating pubs and inns, historic buildings with later bar service, and sites whose tavern traditions were interrupted and revived. Molly’s Shebeen, for example, traces its premises to 1895 but became a bar in 1960; The Pirate’s House fell into disuse after World War II and reopened as a tea room in 1953.
Is America’s oldest bar the same thing as America’s oldest bar building?
No. A building may predate the current business, and a business may continue after moving into a replacement structure. Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar is chiefly notable for its 1722–1732 building, while King George II Inn traces its business tradition to a 1681 ferry house even though the visible structure dates to 1765.
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The Bottom Line
White Horse Tavern is the best single answer for America’s oldest operating tavern, dating to 1673. But the broader list is a contest between different kinds of age: building survival, tavern tradition, business continuity, and modern revival. Read each date alongside its claim type, and the history becomes more accurate—and more interesting—than a simple “oldest bar” label.
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