The Peabody Historical Society and Museum dove deep into this special corner of the city’s history with the recent opening of the Bell Inn and Tavern at 2 Washington St.
The original Bell Tavern was built in 1757 by Francis Symonds, who also operated Peabody’s first printing press out of his buildings on Main Street. The Bell Tavern was a place for travelers to stay, eat, and drink on their journey.
In 1775, the local militia met in front of the Bell Tavern on April 19 to march to Lexington and Concord. After four hours and 16 miles, they reached the village of Menotomy (the city of Arlington today). It was here that the Minutemen encountered the retreating British soldiers. These Danvers (now Peabody) men were killed in battle that day: George Southwick, Samuel Cook, Henry Jacobs, Ebenezer Goldthwaite, and Benjamin Daland. The American Revolution began that day, and for these men, their day started at the Bell Tavern. In 1835, the Lexington Monument was built in their memory. The Monument, now moved, stood on Main Street across from the Bell Tavern.
In 1788, only a few years after the American Revolution, the Bell Tavern had one of its most famous and mysterious guests, Elizabeth Whitman. Whitman took a coach from her family’s home in Hartford, Connecticut. She stopped briefly in Watertown and then traveled onto Danvers (now Peabody). She was 37 years old, traveling solo, pregnant, and unmarried. In June 1788, she took up residence at the Bell Tavern under the assumed name “Mrs. Walker” and stated that her husband would join her in time. He never came.
Elizabeth Whitman died on July 25, 1788, after giving birth to a stillborn child. Her real name remained a mystery, and town residents took it upon themselves to determine her true identity and provide her with a respectable burial. After her story was published in the local paper, along with a list of her belongings, she was identified.
Elizabeth Whitman’s place in history was cemented when author Hannah Webster Foster fictionalized her tale in the work “The Coquette or The History of Eliza Wharton,” published in 1797. Foster wrote the best-selling novel, changing Whitman’s name to Eliza Wharton and telling her story as a cautionary tale to young women about the dangers of following your heart. Hannah Webster Foster is considered one of the first published female romance novelists in the United States.
The Bell Tavern was demolished in 1840 when the Daniels family purchased it.
