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Conkey's Tavern, Pelham, Massachusetts

Date:	1896
Publisher:	The History of the Town of Amherst

About this artifact

William Conkey built this tavern in Pelham, Massachusetts, in 1758. Throughout the revolutionary era, taverns were popular gathering places for men (women did not generally frequent taverns) interested in discussing local affairs and politics. Conkey's became a favorite gathering place for the men of Pelham. It is said that the town officers were actually picked here, and then ratified by the vote of the town meeting. During the Massachusetts Regulation, local Regulators, including Pelham resident Daniel Shays, met and planned their actions at this tavern. Conkey himself was a Regulator. The tavern was torn down in 1880, but visitors to the American Museum in Bath, England, can see a reproduction of the tavern and view related surviving artifacts.