“Gabreil Daveis Tavern was built to accommodate travelers headed east and west over the Irish road and watermen moving lumber and other products by way of the Timber Creek. The building ceased being a tavern in 1768 when Sarah Daveis, the widow of Gabreil, declined to renew the license. From this point forward the building became home to some of the Township’s most important Revolutionary War figures.
Today’s visitors to the building can be certain about its date of construction because it was recorded by the bricklayer builder in the building’s western gable. Dating buildings was a common practice among the English forefathers of the West New Jersey’s earliest settlers.
To those interested in historic buildings and the early architecture of the area, “gable end” houses are a familiar sight. They range in style from the simple addition of the date to the gable end brickwork, to dates and initials of the original owners, to patterned brickwork beneath the dates and initials. Patterns include diamonds, chevrons and zigzags. In some instances, there are intricate flower and coronet patterns in the brickwork. The patterns are created by the use of vitrified headers, or bricks whose ends are burnt to a dark blue-black in the kiln.
However, when viewed in terms of American building traditions, they are quite interesting. There are about 175 such buildings in the United States and over 100 found in the historic colony of West New Jersey. There are none in what was East New Jersey and only five in Pennsylvania. Gabreil Daveis Tavern is the only gable end house in Gloucester Township. The building’s restoration has preserved a small but visible part of the region’s unique cultural heritage.”
(The History of the Township of Gloucester 1695 to 2003, by E. E. Fox III, R. Thompson, J. F. Kaitz, published by Colour Printing, Inc, in cooperation with the Historic and Scenic Preservation Committee and The Township of Gloucester, New Jersey, U.S.A.)
The Gabreil Daveis Tavern is located on 4th Avenue and Floodgate Rd, Glendora, NJ.
Gloucester Township Historic and Scenic Preservation Committee
2017 Gabreil Daveis Tavern Museum House
Tours and Special Events Calendar
http://www.facebook.com/glotwphistory
April 22nd and 23rd Revolutionary Re-enactment, Spring Open House
April 30th, May 7th and May 21st (1-4pm, Tours only)
June 4th – Unfolding Treasures Found Archiving (1-4pm, tours, free ice cream)
June 25th, July 9th, July 23rd, August 6th (1-4pm, tours only)
August 20th – Local History on the Lawn (1-4pm, tours, free ice cream)
September 3rd and 17th, October 8th (1-4pm, tours only)
October 22nd -Quilts, Messengers of the Underground Railroad (1-4pm and tours)
November 5th – Digging into the Past-Hands on Artifacts and Fossils (1-4pm and tours)
November 19th – Holiday Open House (1-4pm)
December 3rd and December 10th (1-4pm, tours only)
