About Fraunces Tavern Museum
Fraunces Tavern Museum occupies the upper floors of the historic Fraunces Tavern complex in Lower Manhattan. The building began as a private residence in the early eighteenth century and became a tavern under Samuel Fraunces in 1762. It emerged as an important gathering place for Patriots during the American Revolution, hosted events connected with the British evacuation of New York, and was the setting for George Washington's farewell to his officers on December 4, 1783. From 1785 to 1788, parts of the tavern also housed departments of the government operating under the Confederation Congress.
Visitors can enter the Long Room associated with Washington's farewell and explore galleries devoted to the American Revolution, New York's role in the conflict, the Birch Trials and Black Loyalist evacuation, the early national government, and the preservation of the building. The museum displays changing selections from collections that include paintings, documents, weapons, flags, furnishings, and personal artifacts. Its combination of an authentic historic setting and focused interpretation makes it one of Lower Manhattan's most direct connections to the Revolutionary and founding periods.
