FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) – The town is nearly finished restoring a historic structure where George Washington slept in October 1789 during his tour of colonies invaded and torched by the British.
The original Sun Tavern on Town Green didn’t survive the British invasion of Fairfield in 1779, but Samuel Penfield, a prominent Revolutionary War-era resident, rebuilt it in 1784.
Washington, inaugurated as the country’s first president in April 1789, stayed overnight in Sun Tavern from Oct. 16 to 17 of that year, according to the Fairfield Historical Society.
“There is pretty sound evidence to support George Washington having stayed here when he came to Fairfield,” said David Parker, a local architect who’s researched Sun Tavern. “In that way, this building ties us to the history of the United States.”
Sun Tavern, one of six town-owned historic structures managed by the Fairfield Historical Society, needed a lot of work, Parker said. Goals of the restoration were to make the tavern structurally sound and return it to the way it looked in the early 19th century, Parker said.
The restoration was done by town Department of Public Works employees and Domus Constructors of Norwalk and is expected to cost nearly $200,000 by the time it is completed.
Christopher Shea, owner of Domus Constructors, said the tavern’s sill atop the foundation deteriorated over time and needed to be replaced.
It was in such poor condition that the tavern’s structural integrity was threatened, Parker said.
Workers are “trying to keep everything intact that can be left,” he said.
The restoration also involved removing 20th century additions from the tavern, replacing roofs on the original structure and an addition built in 1839, replacing and repointing siding on exterior walls, repointing bricks on two chimneys and repainting the structure.
New doors to be placed on the tavern will be replicas of the originals and may include centuries-old hardware. Although new materials will be made to look like they’re original, Sun Tavern retains some material that dates to its 1784 construction, Parker said.
Michael Jehle, executive director of the Fairfield Historical Society, said the tavern will open to the public next year after the historical society outfits the interior with old furniture from its collection.
Maintenance of historic buildings is important because they’re “part of our inheritance and they are part of who we are,” Parker said.
“Regardless of whether your ancestors or my ancestors grew up in Fairfield, it nevertheless becomes part of the tradition we now call our own,” he said.
AP-ES-08-04-07 1423EDT
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