. . . in ye sd Col Swanns Ordinary at James City.
Minutes of the General Court, 1677
Although councilman Colonel Thomas Swann resided across the James River at his Swann Point plantation, he also leased a Jamestown tavern that provided accommodations to colonists who attended the assembly and courts, or had business in town.
Documents and excavation of a large brick foundation identify this structure as possibly Col. Swann's tavern. The elongated four-room ground floor was typical of such establishments. An abundance of bottle glass and a brass spigot from casks of beer or cider stored in the cellar, provide additional evidence of such use.
Because Col. Swann, nicknamed "ye greate toad," advised the rebel Nathaniel Bacon, his Swann's Point plantation remained undamaged during Bacon's Rebellion. Charred timbers here, however, suggest that his tavern burned during the sack of Jamestown. Repaired by 1679, the tavern reopened to operate along with the dozen others in the town.
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