Black Horse Tavern

The Black Horse Tavern once stood upon the site where there is currently a gas station in Arlington. The tavern would have seen just as much traffic in the years leading up to the Revolution as the station sees today, with visitors and townsfolk stopping in to rest, share news, and to gather in secret meetings. The Black Horse Tavern was the chosen site where leaders of the Committees of Safety and Supplies had chosen to meet on several occasions. On April 18, 1775, leaders of the Committees met at Mr. Wetherby’s Black Horse Tavern, during which several significant measures were ordered. Supplies and cannons were ordered out of Concord, with directions specifically given to Colonel Barrett of the Concord Militia: “That the musket balls under the care of Col. Barrett, be buried under ground, in some safe place…".1 Twenty one items were voted on at this secret meeting in Menotomy, the majority of which pertained to securing provisions currently stored in Concord. 

Three members of the Committee of Supplies chose to spend the night at Wetherby’s rather than make the return trip to their native Marblehead: Committee Chair Elbridge Gerry, Colonel Azor Orne and Colonel Jeremiah Lee. The men were awoken as the soldiers marched past the tavern along Concord Road. A story was recounted to Samuel Abbot Smith in 1864 by the granddaughter of Elbridge Gerry’s niece and the daughter-in-law of Colonel Orne. According to Miss Orne, the column of marching troops came to a halt when several were ordered back to the tavern to search inside. The men attempted to flee, though were offered “little protection in the bright moonlight.”2 The three managed to escape detection after Gerry stumbled, falling into the high grass, after which the other two decided to use the brush as cover. Though this story is repeated in several different histories related to Menotomy, all cite Smith as the source.