Potter's Tavern: A Little Building with an Enormous History...by Bryan Pugh

Potter's Tavern, looking west on Broad Street (photo by Bryan Pugh, docent)

The salt-boxed shaped building that is Potter’s Tavern, located at 49 W Broad St, Bridgeton, NJ

08302, is said to have been constructed in 1770, and thus to be the oldest building still standing

in the city of Bridgeton.

It is also listed on the National Register of Historical Places and still stands in its original location.

Why? Not simply because of its age, but because from 1774 - 1779 the tavern was

operated by Matthew Potter, a standout early entrepreneur who had arrived in 1773 after

previously working in Pennsylvania as a blacksmith. Local colonial taverns around this time

often doubled as the owner’s residence, and this one was so constructed. Half of the first floor

was the dining and kitchen sections for tavern business, and the other side and upper story were

Potter’s living quarters.

What makes this tavern so significant—not only for Bridgeton but for the whole state of

New Jersey—were the weekly newsletters called The Plain Dealer that were exclusively penned

and hosted here from 1774 to around 1780. Remarkably, these are now heralded as the very first

newspaper ever created in the state of New Jersey!

Of course, by today’s standards, The Plain Dealer was less a newspaper than a

‘broadside,’ a kind of editorial or political essay printed, posted, and variously shared with the

public. Even Potter invited anyone who could write to speak their mind and share viewpoints.

So it is no surprise that—besides local gossip and ‘scandals’—these essays openly

broadcasted opinions on many political topics, including the impending struggle against the

British Empire, arguing what the colonists’ response should be, whether they were fighting for

their rights as Englishmen or as a new people. The Plain Dealer, while often focusinghumorously on the particular and sometimes semi-scandalous town gossip of the day, also gave voice to those who were both passionate and indifferent towards the conflict.

Remarkably, the essays that have survived the ravages of time date from December 1775

- February 1776, a particularly interesting moment in American history, since armed skirmishes had

already begun, yet the nation had not yet declared independence. Indeed, Matthew Potter and his

anonymous contributors at the time were risking their lives: they could have been executed for

treason. Just hosting The Plain Dealer at his tavern risked the ire of high-ranking law officials of

Bridgeton still aligned with the British during the Revolution; indeed, the tavern was, then as

now, located right across the road from the Courthouse!

Colonial Bridgeton had about 150 residents at the time. Though Revolutionary War

General Giles may have lived here (up Broad Street, not far from the tavern, actually), the city

never became the center of any Revolutionary War battles or left its mark in the heroic history

books.

Nonetheless, because of Potter and The Plain Dealer, we can credit Bridgeton’s high

level of literacy, and its zeal to spread liberty and patriotism through writing, with actually having

pioneered journalism for the state as a whole.