{"nrhp_refnum":"76000292","name":"Rider Tavern","other_names":["Rider's Hotel","Old North Charlton Inn","See Also:Northside Vill"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NE of Charlton on Stafford St., off U.S. 90","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlton","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.164675344000045,"lon":-71.95328270299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Rider Tavern is a three-story, 90-by-40-foot Federal-style inn on Stafford Street (the Northside Turnpike) in North Charlton, Massachusetts, begun about 1797 and set on 2½ acres among open farmland.","why_significant":"It was one of the major inns on the Stafford and Worcester Turnpike and the only inn on that stretch between Sturbridge and Worcester. General Lafayette visited it during his 1824-25 tour. It is also considered the most outstanding Federal inn in the area, with a surviving ballroom with stenciling and the structure of a rare roof garden.","narrative":"Rider Tavern is a large three-story inn on Stafford Street in North Charlton, Massachusetts, begun around 1797 by Eli Wheelock and finished after it was sold to the brothers William and Isiah Rider. It measures 90 by 40 feet and sits on 2½ acres surrounded by farm fields. It served as the only inn between Sturbridge and Worcester on the Stafford and Worcester Turnpike, and became the center of activity in Northside Village. In 1825 General Lafayette stopped there and was welcomed with a celebration. The building keeps notable Federal features, including a keystoned east doorway, a 20-by-60-foot second-floor ballroom with stenciling, a vaulted basement warming room and original woodwork. The first roof was flat and carried a roof garden fed by water piped through logs from a spring; its structure remains visible in the attic. Dances and lyceums were held in the ballroom into the 1950s. The local historical society is restoring the building for community use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Begun by Eli Wheelock; sold before completion to William and Captain Isiah Rider","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good; recently acquired by the Charlton Historical Society, which is restoring it for society headquarters, a community center and two apartments.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.992741-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/7974/63797454/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000292.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000292/f0549a08bd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000292/f0549a08bd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rider_Tavern,_Charlton_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rider_Tavern,_Charlton_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"77000195","name":"Northside Village Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/northside-village-historic-district-77000195/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797454","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7332611"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/rider-tavern-76000292/"}