Insights Into History: Episode 8 ”The Indian King” (AUDIO)

When war turned a busy colonial tavern into a temporary statehouse, the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield became the unlikely site where New Jersey began to act like a government. From January to September 1777 lawmakers met upstairs, entered the Declaration into official minutes, adopted a state seal, and turned revolutionary claims into administrative reality while British and Hessian forces moved nearby.

This episode traces the Quaker roots of West Jersey, Elizabeth Haddon’s role in founding Haddonfield, the tavern’s changing ownership during the Revolution, local wartime stories, and the building’s preservation as New Jersey’s first state-owned historic site.