The Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum - (732) 381-0441

The official page of the Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum, a late 18th century tavern and inn in Rahway, NJ.

The Merchants & Drovers Tavern Museum is one of the most notable historical landmarks of Rahway. Sometimes called the Old Girl Scout House, the Tavern had been standing on the corner of Westfield Avenue and St. Georges Avenue since 1795.

The Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum is one of New Jersey's surviving historical treasures. It has graced the corner of St. Georges & Westfield Avenues for over 220 years.

It was originally built as a two-story house and general store in the 1700s.

The structure was located on the main route between the Colonial towns of Elizabeth and Princeton and also connected New York City to Philadelphia. Noting the prime location, John Anderson, a tavern owner from Woodbridge, purchased the building and applied for a license to operate a Tavern and Inn in the late 1700s.

He then extended the building eleven feet to the north and had rooms added to the second floor. In the 1820s, the building was enlarged further to become the four-story Federal Style structure that exists today.

Aside from being a Tavern and Inn, the Merchants and Drovers served Rahway's citizens in every aspect of public and political life. It functioned as the original Town Hall as well as a meeting place for debates, elections, dances, and parties were all held at the Merchants & Drovers Tavern Museum

The Merchants and Drovers changed owners and names throughout its history but functioned as a hotel until the 1930's when the owners ceased operation and rented it to the Girl Scouts of New Jersey. For the next 40 years the building would become the Girl Scout headquarters and be forever known as "The Old Girl Scout House."

In the 1970's the building was threatened with demolition to make way for a chain restaurant. Local citizens from all over Rahway and Union County joined together to save the building and the history it represented. Today, the Merchants and Drovers is a museum dedicated to preserving local history.

Tags: Museum,Cemetery,Gift Shop