Rising Sun Tavern

Rising Sun Tavern is a two-story wooden building on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg with a large front porch and original interior woodwork throughout. The structure contains period furnishings and objects that show how people lived and worked during the 1700s.

Charles Washington, George Washington's younger brother, built the structure in 1760 as a private residence before it became a tavern in 1792. The building then served as a gathering place for travelers and locals as the town of Fredericksburg grew during the early American period.

The tavern demonstrates how people gathered socially during the colonial period through its layout and furnished spaces where visitors walk through the rooms. You can see how strangers, merchants, and locals mixed in such places to share meals and news.

The building sits on Caroline Street in downtown Fredericksburg and is easy to reach on foot from other attractions. Guided tours show visitors how people worked and lived in colonial-era taverns through demonstrations and period details throughout the rooms.

The building was originally known as Eagle Tavern and received its current name only in the 1900s. This name change shows how the identity of historical places can shift as they are rediscovered and reinterpreted by later generations.