Newport, Rhode Island · Founded 1673 · Building: 1652
A Newport restaurant in a 1652 house converted to tavern use in 1673 and named White Horse Tavern in 1730.
White Horse Tavern occupies a colonial Newport building associated with Francis Brinley's 1652 residence. William Mayes Sr. bought and expanded the house for tavern use in 1673, and Jonathan Nichols gave it the White Horse Tavern name in 1730. Today it remains a working restaurant, with its historical claims and haunted reputation best separated from the evidence supporting each.
Historical accounts date construction of the original two-story residence to Francis Brinley.
Source: Business Insider, "Inside the Oldest Restaurant in the Country, White Horse Tavern," June 20, 2026; The Takeout, "The Oldest Restaurant In The U.S. Is A Priceless Piece Of History," January 2, 2025
William Mayes Sr. purchases the Brinley house and expands it for tavern and inn use.
Source: White Horse Tavern historical account; Business Insider, June 20, 2026
A later historical account dates William Mayes Sr.'s formal tavern license to this year.
Source: New England Legends Podcast 313, "Newport's Haunted White Horse Tavern," March 17, 2025
William Mayes Jr. takes over the tavern around this year; later accounts identify him as a pirate active in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
Source: White Horse Tavern historical summary; The Travel, "America's Oldest Bar Is No Longer A Notorious Pirate Hangout," May 30, 2025
Owner Jonathan Nichols names the business White Horse Tavern.
Source: White Horse Tavern historical summary
During the Revolutionary-era British occupation of Newport, accounts say British troops and Loyalists were quartered at the tavern; exact dates and arrangements require primary occupation records.
Source: White Horse Tavern historical summary
The Preservation Society of Newport County begins a 1950s rescue and restoration of the building after a period of decline and boarding-house use.
Source: White Horse Tavern historical summary; The Travel, May 30, 2025
White Horse Tavern is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark, according to later historical summaries.
Source: The Takeout, January 2, 2025; The Travel, May 30, 2025
Jeff Farrar is reported to purchase White Horse Tavern.
Source: The Takeout, "The Oldest Restaurant In The U.S. Is A Priceless Piece Of History," January 2, 2025
White Horse Tavern remains an operating Newport restaurant at 26 Marlborough Street.
Source: White Horse Tavern official website; Business Insider, June 20, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Multiple historical accounts date the original Brinley residence to 1652 and describe William Mayes Sr.'s 1673 purchase and tavern conversion. This review did not inspect the original deed, tax record, building analysis, or license files.
The tavern, tourism coverage, and historical summaries consistently call it America's oldest restaurant or oldest tavern building. The building's National Historic Landmark status supports exceptional significance, but this review did not inspect a National Park Service comparative study proving uninterrupted tavern/restaurant operation since 1673 or priority over every other eligible site.
Historical summaries say the tavern served as a meeting place for the Rhode Island General Assembly, criminal court, and city council for roughly a century. The candidate's claim of reviewed legislative journals and colonial court records was not substantiated in this audit.
Multiple historical retellings say Mayes Jr. took over around 1702 and was involved in piracy in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The chronology is credible but this review did not inspect admiralty records, trial documents, privateering papers, or primary Newport business records.
The claim appears in established historical summaries of the tavern's Revolutionary-era history. The reviewed sources do not provide a primary quartering order, military diary, receipt, or Newport occupation record, so the detailed circumstances remain unverified.
Local folklore and paranormal media describe reports of an old man, voices, footsteps, and moving objects. These sources document a haunted reputation, not paranormal activity. No verified Ghost Hunters/TAPS episode at White Horse Tavern was found in this review.
The 2008 Ghost Hunters listing concerns Ruff Stone Tavern in North Providence, Rhode Island, not Newport's White Horse Tavern. The candidate's investigation entry is a venue mismatch.
The tavern's active official site and current restaurant coverage list White Horse Tavern at 26 Marlborough Street in Newport with current reservations and dining service.
Everything below has been reported by two or more independent sources — this is an informational record of what's said about this place, not a verified account of paranormal activity. Still Open America doesn't certify hauntings as real.
Multiple accounts describe an elderly or shabby-dressed man in colonial clothing appearing in the main dining room near a fireplace and on the second floor near the bathrooms. The figure is commonly linked in folklore to an unidentified overnight guest who reportedly died in an upstairs room in the 1720s.
No primary death, lodging, court, or newspaper record was reviewed that confirms the identity or death of the alleged 1720s guest.
Staff and visitors have repeatedly reported hearing a small girl crying or sobbing near the second-floor restrooms when no child is present. Some accounts also associate the reports with sudden cold spots in the same area.
Employees and visitors report being tapped on the shoulder by no visible person, hearing voices in empty rooms, and sensing an unseen presence while the tavern is closing or otherwise quiet. These reports are commonly treated as one broad unseen-presence legend.
Multiple sources describe heavy footsteps in unoccupied rooms along with dishes, utensils, glasses, or other small objects moving or falling without an apparent cause. The reports are not consistently assigned to a particular named figure.
A female apparition is reported in the dining room, sometimes described as floating above tables or wandering through the tavern before disappearing near a fireplace. Accounts differ on her identity and do not consistently connect her to one historical person.
White Horse Tavern was built as a tavern in 1673.
The site is associated with a 1652 Francis Brinley residence. William Mayes Sr. bought and expanded the building for tavern use in 1673; a reviewed historical account places his formal tavern license in 1687.
Source: Business Insider, June 20, 2026; New England Legends Podcast 313, March 17, 2025
The tavern has been called White Horse Tavern since 1673.
Historical summaries identify Jonathan Nichols as the owner who named the business White Horse Tavern in 1730.
Source: White Horse Tavern historical summary
William Mayes Jr. took over the tavern in 1690.
Historical summaries place William Mayes Jr.'s takeover around 1702, not 1690.
Source: The Travel, "America's Oldest Bar Is No Longer A Notorious Pirate Hangout," May 30, 2025
Ghost Hunters/TAPS investigated White Horse Tavern in 2008.
The 2008 Ghost Hunters Rhode Island tavern investigation was at Ruff Stone Tavern in North Providence, not White Horse Tavern in Newport.
Source: IMDb, Ghost Hunters, "Ghostly Conversation," April 16, 2008; Ghost Hunters episode-list records
The current owner of White Horse Tavern is Jeff Farrar.
Jeff Farrar is reported to have bought the tavern in 2014, but later reporting describes current ownership as a Newport-based group without naming the legal entity or principals. Current ownership remains unresolved.
Source: The Takeout, January 2, 2025; The Travel, May 30, 2025
White Horse Tavern survived because the building's colonial character remained legible through changes in ownership and use, then received a major preservation intervention in the 1950s. Its current restaurant business depends on the historic fabric, Newport tourism, and a centuries-long public identity, but its present owners and literal uninterrupted operating record require more complete documentation.
White Horse Tavern in Newport is widely described as America's oldest tavern building or restaurant, with a house dating to 1652 and tavern use beginning in 1673. Its national-oldest and continuous-operation claim is credible, but this review did not locate a National Park Service comparative audit proving it against every other historic tavern.
William Mayes Sr. bought and expanded the former Francis Brinley house for tavern use in 1673. A later historical account dates Mayes's formal tavern license to 1687, so the conversion and licensing milestones should be distinguished.
Historical accounts say William Mayes Jr. took over White Horse Tavern around 1702 and was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The story is plausible but this review did not inspect primary admiralty, court, or Newport business records to verify his activities.
Historical summaries say White Horse Tavern served for roughly a century as a meeting place for the Rhode Island General Assembly, criminal court, and city council. The claim is credible local history, but this review did not inspect the underlying legislative and court journals.
White Horse Tavern has a longstanding haunted reputation involving reports of an old man, voices, footsteps, and moving objects. Those accounts document folklore, not verified paranormal activity; no verified Ghost Hunters episode at the tavern was found.
Yes. White Horse Tavern is operating as a restaurant at 26 Marlborough Street in Newport. Its official site provides current reservations, menu, and dining information.
26 Marlborough St, Newport, RI 02840
(401) 849-3600
The tavern is an active Newport restaurant; check the current reservation policy, dress guidance, menu, and hours directly before visiting.