LOCATION: The Bell Tavern marker is placed on the front of the 4C’s Restaurant building located at 302 South Main Street, Culpeper, VA (GPS 38.471889, -77.996778)

Three structures have occupied this site including Bell Tavern (1790s-1845), Macoy house (1850s-1940s), and the present building which has served as a pharmacy and restaurant. Bell Tavern, named for the large bell that stood in front, was operated by Benjamin Shackelford (1790-1817), Jeremiah Strother (1817-early 1830s), and William Ashby (1830s-1845). While operated by Shackelford and Strother, Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, James Madison, and Attorney General William Wirt, stayed at the Tavern. The Fairfax Masonic Lodge and Post Office were both first established here in 1794. Jefferson stayed here during a March 13, 1809 snowstorm after completing his presidency. Lafayette dined here on August 22, 1825 as a grand banquet was prepared for him in the enclosed sunken garden in the rear of the tavern during his triumphal Farewell Tour of America. Lafayette’s entourage included his son, Georges Washington Lafayette, President Monroe, and Lafayette’s secretary, Auguste Levasseur.

Marker installed 2025

Reference Material

The present day building at 302 S Main Street erected in the 1940s as a medical building and now home of 4C’s restaurant.

Content courtesy of Gadsby Tavern Museum

A letter from Thomas Jefferson to his friend Joel Barlow detailing his preffered route from Washington, D.C. to Monticello. Capt Shackelford, the owner of Bell Tavern, is listed the suggested stay for Culpeper.