Image - The 1784 Salem Tavern

The Salem Tavern as it exists today was built in 1784. The 1784 tavern was built to be as fire proof as an 18th century building could be. A hard lesson and experience with fire was had when the earlier wooden tavern burned to the ground. With fire prevention in mind the replacement tavern was the first all brick building in Salem. Parts of the basement walls are from the original 1775 Tavern building.

In the late 18th century all who worked and lived in Salem were Moravians. Because Salem was a trade town, as contrasted with the Moravian farming communities, it was necessary to attract non-Moravians or “strangers” as they were called. Strangers were needed to purchase what the tradesmen of Salem made. The tavern housed only non-Moravian men coming to Salem to purchase goods. 

The tavern back in the day would be considered 4 Star by the standards of the day. 

The Strangers coming to Salem were a mixed blessing. They were needed for commerce but not for an exchange of ideas. The Moravians to put it bluntly did not wish to hear the latest trendy Christian idea. They were rightly satisfied with their corporate spiritual life. With that in mind the leaders of Salem decided to place the Tavern on the outskirts of town to avoid the influence of “strangers” as much as possible. 

The Tavern was built, owned and operated by the Moravian Church. It was the church that selected a married couple to run the facility. It was important that the couple could run a successful business as well as set a good example of the Moravian community. In addition to the tavern keeper and his wife, the Tavern required several workers. A hostler (horse boy) and female workers were usually part of the workforce. An enslaved African American family also lived and worked in the Tavern in 1791.

Several consequential Strangers or guests stayed at Salem’s tavern. The most famous visitor, President George Washington, stayed two nights in 1791.  

This was also the first building by mason Johann Gottlob Krause, who built most of Salem’s largest and most important masonry buildings in the subsequent 20 years.