About Bonnell's Tavern

Although it is not technically located in the Town of Clinton, The Bonnell Tavern has been a landmark in Clinton, NJ since it was established in 1767 by Lt. Colonel Abraham Bonnell. It was operated as a tavern until 1870 and by 1770, had become the meeting and voting place for the northern section of the county. In the latter part of 1775 political activities at the tavern became even more important when Charles Stewart returned from attending the Provincial Congress of New Jersey as delegate, called a meeting of local residents at the Bonnell Tavern, and organized a regiment of “minutemen”, the first of its kind in New Jersey. These patriotic militiamen soon joined forces with Major General Charles Lee. Despite its current under-utilitzation, Bonnell's Tavern is one of the most historically significant sites in New Jersey. During the Revolutionary War it was a recruiting station for militia and Continental army units and it was the headquarters and recruiting center of the first minuteman regiment in the region.