Few things make my nerdy self happier than roaming around a historic site. I love it all—the smithy, the barns, the open-fire kitchens…and then when exhaustion has set in, sitting down in a cozy little tavern is the perfect way to unwind and spend some quality time with my maps.

Colonial Williamsburg boasts more than one such place to both kick back with an ale and be reminded of the key roles that women played in Revolutionary American society, keeping the colonies running as the war unfolded. Taverns were part hotel, mail service, eatery, transportation hub, and place to rub patriotic elbows.

Jane Vobe announced her latest venture in the Virginia Gazette on February 6, 1772, letting “former customers, and the Publick in general” know about her new tavern “at the Sign of The King’s Arms…”

When Jane Vobe opened The King’s Arms, she vacated the inn she ran on Waller Street. Christiana Campbell moved in and rented out rooms to those who had lodged with her at previous establishments. The tavern’s largest space was used as a ballroom for the Masonic lodge. Campbell was a seasoned and successful tavern keeper ran several locations over the course of her life.

Campbell’s and Vobe’s taverns were busy ones, and they both relied on a number of enslaved workers to keep them running. Based on their letters and account books, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, members of the Continental Congress and others relied on these establishments when they came to town.

So as the nation remembers 250 years of American history in July 2026, remember the people who kept that young nation humming.