The feeling of 18th-century New England awaits you. Our genteel Colonial tavern catered to the Vermont Green Mountain Boys and the politically influential—before, during and after Vermont became a state. The Tavern was where the elite met to eat and drink. The atmosphere at Ye Olde Tavern is one of simple elegance as befitting statesmen and the gentry who often dined and socialized there.

Ye Olde Tavern wears its more than two hundred years with grace and style. Built in 1790 by Dorset master builder Aaron Sheldon, it is distinguished by the spring floor in its third floor ballroom and by the high square columns of its porch. Called the Stagecoach Inn, it was built while Vermont was still an independent republic, its statehood opposed by the hated "Yorkers" until 1791.

About 1850, while it was known as Lockwood's Hotel, the marble porch was added. In 1860 Steven Thayer purchased the inn and renamed it Thayer's Hotel, a name that would last for 50 years. The first telephone line in Manchester was installed at the inn. It connected the railroad station with the South Dorset marble quarry. In 1896, Julia Thayer became a charter member of the newly formed Ormsby Chapter of the Daughter of the American Revolution. The chapter was named for the sister of Revolutionary hero Gideon Ormsby.

In 1902 as the Fairview Hotel, the tavern became headquarters for the movement to license the sale of "spirituous beverages". Two years later the revocation of the license closed the hotel.

After the installation of electricity in 1924 and renovations in 1934, Walter Clemons-McGuire re-opened the building as a hotel and antique shop. To this day, many of the curios, framed material and some of the furniture of Mr. McGuire's are found throughout the building.

Extensive and careful restoration in 1975 by Peter Palmer allowed the re-opening in time for the 1976 Bicentennial. At that time, the name changed to Ye Olde Tavern and it was listed by the Vermont Register of Historic Places. Within the walls of this circa 1790 building, stenciling recreates patterns typical of Moses Eaton. His work repeats the pineapple motif, a colonial symbol of hospitality which is found on the front door knocker. Ye Olde Tavern's delightfully uneven floors, slanting doorways, antique furnishings and classical music are remininiscent of the past. As the custodians of this colonial building, we welcome you to the modern hospitality of the Tavern.

In June 2009, Ye Olde Tavern was proud to become a "Green Business".

Minna & Michael Brandt, Your Hosts

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