John Gadsby
b. 1766 · d. 1844
English-born innkeeper who operated the City Tavern and City Hotel in Alexandria from 1796 to 1808 and later ran the National Hotel in Washington. His Alexandria establishment became the social and political hub of the early republic.
John Gadsby emigrated from England and leased the Alexandria tavern complex on North Royal Street from proprietor John Wise in 1796, operating what was then the largest and most ambitious hostelry between Baltimore and Richmond [1] Miller, Artisans and Merchants, 1991 Book . Under Gadsby’s management the establishment hosted George Washington’s final Birthnight Ball in February 1799 and served as a regular stop for federal-era travelers between the new capital and points south.
Gadsby left Alexandria for Baltimore and later Washington, where he operated the National Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. He died in Washington in 1844 and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery [2] Powell, History of Old Alexandria, 1928 Book . His Alexandria tenure, brief as it was, cemented the Royal Street tavern’s association with his name in local memory.
Associated places
134 North Royal Street — Gadsby's Tavern and City Hotel
1796–1808John Gadsby leased and operated the tavern, hosting Washington's final Birthnight Ball.
Sources
- 1.
T. Michael Miller, Artisans and Merchants of Alexandria, Virginia 1780-1820, Heritage Books, 1991.
Book
- 2.
Mary G. Powell, The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia, from July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861, Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928.
Book
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