Parker Tavern - Reading, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 31.221 W 071° 06.405
19T E 326949 N 4709703
Parker Tavern is a 17th century saltbox style structure which is the oldest building in Reading. It is located at 103 Washington Street in Reading MA.
Waymark Code: WM14909
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 05/21/2021
Views: 0
Parker Tavern was built by Abraham Bryant, a farmer and blacksmith, in 1684. The property changed hands in 1724 and again in 1739. In 1760 the building was sold to Ephraim Parker who operated it as a inn during the Revolutionary War when it was used to quarter prisoners of war from the 71st Scottish Regiment. From 1806 until 1916 is was used as a farmhouse. It was then acquired by the Town of Reading and later sold to the Reading Antiquarian Society in 1923. Since then the Reading Antiquarian Society has operated the building as a museum. Friends of Parker Tavern: (
visit link)
The 2½ story high wood frame building has an asymmetrical gable roof, the east side is longer than the west side, and is covered with wood shingle. The façade is four bays wide with a red door entrance with a lantern at the second bay. There are rectangular multi-paned windows on the lower and upper level of the each remaining bay. The north end of the building has three levels. The lowest level has three windows, the middle level has two windows and the upmost level has a single window.
Parker Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Tours held by the Reading Antiquarian Society on Sundays, May through October, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.