Munroe Tavern is one of the crown jewels of the Lexington Historical Society. This barn-red clapboard home was built in 1735 and became a tavern in October of 1774, just as tensions between the Crown and the colonies were coming to a head.

The tavern and its proprietors witnessed the conflict first-hand on April 19, 1775 when a group of British regulars commandeered the taproom. After a defeat at the Battles of Lexington and Concord, British Brigadier General Hugh Percy and his troops used the tavern as a temporary headquarters, converting the dining room into a field hospital and helping themselves to the offerings at the bar. When the Patriot militiaman John Raymond refused to cooperate with the British demands, perhaps defending the young family who lived at the tavern, he was shot and killed.

The tavern is also known for hosting President George Washington after a 1789 visit to the Lexington Battle Green. Today, the renovated tavern is a museum that provides a view of April 19, 1775 from the perspective of the King’s troops. The building underwent renovation and restoration work in 2010–2011.

Today the tavern is operated as a museum and contains artifacts from Washington’s visit and many articles used by the Munroe family when they ran the tavern from 1770 to 1827. Visitors may view the Relics of the Redcoats exhibit on display, which illuminates the role and perspective of British soldiers during the outbreak of the war. The Garden of Colonial Flowers, planted and tended by the Lexington Field and Garden Club, adorns the site.