As tensions peaked because of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the tavern's owner, Mathias Aspden, Jr., had gone to England for his education and returned a staunch Loyalist. He sold his tavern to Thomas Redman, who ran the village apothecary shop.
Mathias Aspden Jr., the owner of the tavern, left for England during the heightened tensions following the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. Upon returning as a Loyalist, he sold his tavern to Thomas Redman, who managed the village apothecary shop.