Humphrey Pratt Tavern

The Humphrey Pratt Tavern is a historic house at 287 Main Street in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Built in 1785, it was associated with the locally prominent Pratt family for many years, and served as a tavern and stagecoach stop in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

Humphrey Pratt Tavern
Location287 Main St., Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Coordinates41°17′18″N 72°22′35″W
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1785 (1785)
Part ofOld Saybrook South Green (ID76001984)
NRHP reference No.72001320[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 7, 1972
Designated CPSeptember 3, 1976

Description and history

The Humphrey Pratt Tavern is located in Old Saybrook's central South Green area, on the west side of Main Street southwest of its junction with the Old Boston Post Road. It consists of a main block, ​2 1⁄2 stories in height, five bays wide, with end chimneys, and a ​2 1⁄2-story gambrel-roofed ell extending to the rear. It is finished in wooden clapboards, and has a symmetrical facade with a slightly overhanging second story. The main entrance is at the center, sheltered by a Greek Revival hip-roofed portico supported by square columns with modest capitals. The interior follows a central hall plan, and is extended by a two-story addition to the rear and a single-story ell to the side.[2]

The house was built in 1785 by Humphrey Pratt, and it remained in the Pratt family until 1943. Pratt was Old Saybrook's first postmaster, operating the town's post office on these premises. It was a popular meeting place, given its central location in the town, and on the main stagecoach route between Boston and New York City. The rear addition has a ballroom with sprung wooden floor on the second floor, where the Marquis de Lafayette is said to have danced.[2][3]


See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Susan Babbitt (July 13, 1972). "NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Pratt, Humphrey, Tavern / See Also:Old Saybrook South Green". National Park Service.
  3. Accompanying four photos, exterior, from 1972
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