thedrifter
06-02-05, 06:48 AM
June 06, 2005
Pennsylvania recognizes Tun Tavern
Birthplace of Marines to get marker
By George G. Sheldon
Special to the Times
PHILADELPHIA — Tun Tavern, known as the birthplace of the Marine Corps, will finally receive official recognition from the state. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has approved the placement of an official state historic marker.
“The marker is going to happen,” said Bob Giannini, National Park Service museum curator with the Independence National Historical Park. “That is, it was approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s State Marker Division.”
The marker is expected to be placed later this year. There is no marker of any kind commemorating the existence of Tun Tavern in Philadelphia; the last markers were removed in the 1960s.
“We have not yet set a date for the unveiling of this important marker, but it will definitely happen within the next six months,” Giannini said. The erection and dedication are likely to be in October.
The Tun Tavern marker will be on the east side of Front Street between Walnut and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia. This location will be within one block of where the tavern stood, since the original location “is now part of the cavernous hole that tunnels Interstate 95 through Philadelphia,” Giannini said.
Benjamin Franklin, who lived about three blocks from Tun Tavern, used it to recruit the first members of the Pennsylvania Militia when the state needed men to quell Indian uprisings. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other members of the First and Second Continental Congress dined there.
“Tun” means a large cask, especially for wine, though Tun Tavern was known for its fine beers. Built along what was then the waterfront of the Delaware River, near Carpenter’s Wharf, the tavern was a meeting place for charitable societies and the Masons. But it is best known because of Robert Mullan, the tavern’s proprietor, who was commissioned by an act of Congress on Nov. 10, 1775, to raise two battalions of Marines.
Pennsylvania’s historical marker program was established in 1946; more than 2,000 blue-and-gold markers highlight people, places and events significant in state and national history. But it took nearly 60 years for the state to approve the Tun Tavern marker.
“I believe everyone knows that the Marine Corps was founded in Independence Hall,” Giannini said. “Nonetheless, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation at Quantico, Va., and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have generously funded the marker.”
Tun Tavern was also home to the St. Andrews Society, a charitable group dedicated to helping underprivileged settlers from Scotland settle in Philadelphia. And it served as St. John’s #1 Lodge, a Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple.
“However, the new Pennsylvania State Historical Marker is only going to recognize the Marine Corps because we receive more questions per year from Marines as to the location of Tun Tavern than anyone else,” Giannini said.
George G. Sheldon is a freelance writer in Pennsylvania.
Ellie
Pennsylvania recognizes Tun Tavern
Birthplace of Marines to get marker
By George G. Sheldon
Special to the Times
PHILADELPHIA — Tun Tavern, known as the birthplace of the Marine Corps, will finally receive official recognition from the state. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has approved the placement of an official state historic marker.
“The marker is going to happen,” said Bob Giannini, National Park Service museum curator with the Independence National Historical Park. “That is, it was approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s State Marker Division.”
The marker is expected to be placed later this year. There is no marker of any kind commemorating the existence of Tun Tavern in Philadelphia; the last markers were removed in the 1960s.
“We have not yet set a date for the unveiling of this important marker, but it will definitely happen within the next six months,” Giannini said. The erection and dedication are likely to be in October.
The Tun Tavern marker will be on the east side of Front Street between Walnut and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia. This location will be within one block of where the tavern stood, since the original location “is now part of the cavernous hole that tunnels Interstate 95 through Philadelphia,” Giannini said.
Benjamin Franklin, who lived about three blocks from Tun Tavern, used it to recruit the first members of the Pennsylvania Militia when the state needed men to quell Indian uprisings. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other members of the First and Second Continental Congress dined there.
“Tun” means a large cask, especially for wine, though Tun Tavern was known for its fine beers. Built along what was then the waterfront of the Delaware River, near Carpenter’s Wharf, the tavern was a meeting place for charitable societies and the Masons. But it is best known because of Robert Mullan, the tavern’s proprietor, who was commissioned by an act of Congress on Nov. 10, 1775, to raise two battalions of Marines.
Pennsylvania’s historical marker program was established in 1946; more than 2,000 blue-and-gold markers highlight people, places and events significant in state and national history. But it took nearly 60 years for the state to approve the Tun Tavern marker.
“I believe everyone knows that the Marine Corps was founded in Independence Hall,” Giannini said. “Nonetheless, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation at Quantico, Va., and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have generously funded the marker.”
Tun Tavern was also home to the St. Andrews Society, a charitable group dedicated to helping underprivileged settlers from Scotland settle in Philadelphia. And it served as St. John’s #1 Lodge, a Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple.
“However, the new Pennsylvania State Historical Marker is only going to recognize the Marine Corps because we receive more questions per year from Marines as to the location of Tun Tavern than anyone else,” Giannini said.
George G. Sheldon is a freelance writer in Pennsylvania.
Ellie