The Golden Fleece Tavern

Built in the 1730s, the Golden Fleece Tavern, also known as Battell’s Tavern, stood at the center of community and government life in Delaware and figured prominently during the American Revolution and the early years of the nation’s independence. It hosted meetings of the Committee of Inspection and Observation and served as a vital point for the exchange of wartime communications. After the transfer of state government from New Castle to Dover in 1777, it became the meeting place of the Assembly’s Upper House, the Legislative Council, and remained that body’s home until a State House was completed in 1791. In September 1787, a new framework for the nation’s government was sent to the states for consideration, and thirty delegates were elected to meet and review it. Their meeting convened here on December 3, approval was unanimous, and on December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Federal Constitution. In January 1790, the Council met there to approve the Bill of Rights. The Golden Fleece was demolished circa 1830 and replaced by the Capitol Hotel, which closed in the 1920s and was renovated to its present appearance by Henry and Mabel Lloyd Ridgely.

Dover, Delaware · United States