The Hopestill Bent Tavern is a historic

First Period First Period is an American architecture style originating between approximately 1626 and 1725, used primarily by British colonists during the settlement of the British colonies of North America, particularly in Massachusetts and Virginia. ...

tavern (now a private residence) in

Wayland, Massachusetts Wayland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was founded in 1638, and incorporated in 1780 and was originally part of neighboring Sudbury (incorporated 1639). At the 2020 United States census, the population wa ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The oldest portion of this -story building was built on this site c. 1710, and consisted of two rooms with a central chimney. Around 1800 a second First Period structure was moved to the site and attached to the first, giving the building most of its present form. The building is also unusual for the period in that some of its rooms have no fireplace, and that the upstairs exhibits evidence of significant reuse of older building materials, a practice that was generally restricted to the attic or basement. The building exhibits modest Federal styling, in keeping with the c. 1800 alterations. Its builder and first proprietor was Hopestill Bent (1672–1725). Hopestill Bent fought in

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...

(one of the

French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...

). Hopestill Bent was the great-grandfather of Silas Bent Jr. and great-great-grandfather of

Charles Bent Charles Bent (November 11, 1799 – January 19, 1847) was an American businessman and politician who served as the first civilian United States governor of the New Mexico Territory, newly invaded and occupied by the United States during the Mex ...

, the trader and first territorial Governor of

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

during the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1990.

References

Drinking establishments on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Taverns in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Wayland, Massachusetts {{MiddlesexCountyMA-NRHP-stub

See also

References