Buckman’s Tavern

Buckman’s Tavern , a National Historic Landmark, is located on the Battle Green in Lexington Massachusetts. It served as a gathering place for the local “training band” or militia men when they trained on the Lexington Green. The tavern was used as the headquarters of the militia. The owner, John Buckman was also a member of the Lexington Training Band.

On April 19, 1775 it was John Hancock who was a patron in the tavern before getting word by Paul Revere that the British were coming to capture him and to seize the community’s military supply. Several militiamen gathered in the tavern waiting for the British to arrive. Once word reached that they were getting closer, the militiamen under the lead of Captain Parker left the tavern and assembled in the common. Soon afterward someone fired the first shot that marked the beginning of the American revolutionary war.

Buckman’s Tavern is located at 1 Bedford Street on Lexington Common. It was built in 1690 by Benjamin Muzzey and later run by his son John. By 1775 the business was owned by John’s granddaughter and her husband John Buckman. During those years the tavern was considered the busiest in Lexington; it was also a store and later the town’s first post office.

Restored in the 1920’s by the Lexington Historical Society the tavern is now operated as a museum.