Green Dragon Tavern
Retailer / private label
UnclaimedA historic Boston public house associated with the Freemasons, the Sons of Liberty, and the planning of the Boston Tea Party.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
The Green Dragon Tavern was a public house on Green Dragon Lane, now Union Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. During the eighteenth century it became one of the city’s best-known meeting places and acquired an enduring place in accounts of the American Revolution. The building was used both as a tavern and as a meeting facility, with the St. Andrew’s Lodge of Freemasons occupying rooms on the first floor after acquiring the property in 1766. Its basement tavern and associated rooms were used by political, civic, fraternal, and clandestine groups. The property’s documented ownership history reaches back to the late seventeenth century. William Stoughton had acquired it before June 1676, and it later passed to his niece Mehitable Minot Cooper. In 1701 she inherited the property, which was valued at £650 in 1705. Her son William subsequently sold it in 1743 to physician and pamphleteer William Douglas. Douglas lived there and referred to the building as his “mansion house.” Following his death in 1752, the property passed to his sister, who sold it to the St. Andrew’s Lodge of Freemasons in 1766. The tavern’s historical reputation rests primarily on its role as a gathering place for resistance to British colonial policy. The Sons of Liberty, the Boston Committee of Correspondence, and the Boston Caucus met there. Historians commonly associate the location with figures including Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, John Hancock, James Otis, and Benjamin Edes, although membership in the Sons of Liberty was secret and the precise attendance of individuals at particular meetings is not always documented. The Boston Tea Party is traditionally said to have been planned at the Green Dragon, and Paul Revere is associated with departing from the tavern for his 1775 ride to Lexington. The building was a substantial brick structure for colonial Boston, occupying approximately three-quarters of an acre. It had two stories at the front and three at the rear, and a copper dragon mounted on an iron crane identified the establishment to visitors. Its combination of public hospitality, fraternal organization, political discussion, and strategic communication made it an important node in Boston’s pre-Revolutionary civic life. After independence, the site continued to be used for public affairs. In January 1788, Boston mechanics and artisans met there and adopted resolutions supporting the importance of ratifying the proposed Federal Constitution. The historic building was demolished in 1832 and replaced by a warehouse. A commemorative plaque was installed on August 19, 1892. The original tavern is therefore no longer an operating business or surviving building, but its name remains prominent in interpretations of Boston’s revolutionary history. A later pub at 11 Marshall Street has used the name “new” Green Dragon Tavern, but it is distinct from the historic establishment described in the canonical article.
History
The Green Dragon Tavern stood on Green Dragon Lane in Boston’s North End, a street now known as Union Street. Its property history begins at least in the seventeenth century. William Stoughton had obtained the property before June 1676, and it was later inherited in 1701 by Mehitable Minot Cooper from her uncle. The property was valued at £650 in 1705. In 1743, Cooper’s son William sold it to William Douglas, a physician and pamphleteer who lived at the establishment and described it as his mansion house. After Douglas died in 1752, the property passed to his sister. She sold it in 1766 to the St. Andrew’s Lodge of Freemasons. The lodge used the first floor as meeting rooms, while the basement operated as a tavern. The building’s mixed use allowed it to function as a place for eating, drinking, fraternal meetings, political discussion, and the exchange of information. The Green Dragon became especially important during the period of colonial opposition to British rule. The St. Andrew’s Lodge was led by Joseph Warren, and the tavern was used by the Sons of Liberty, the Boston Committee of Correspondence, and the Boston Caucus. The Sons of Liberty operated with secrecy, so the exact composition of their meetings is not fully documented. Nevertheless, the tavern is repeatedly associated with prominent Boston activists, including Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, John Hancock, James Otis, and Benjamin Edes. The site is traditionally identified as a place where the Boston Tea Party was planned. Revere’s connection with the Masons and the tavern also contributed to the tradition that he departed from there for his 1775 ride to Lexington. Architecturally, the tavern was a large brick building occupying about 0.75 acres. It had two floors at the front and three at the rear. A copper dragon fixed to an iron crane served as its distinctive sign. The building’s scale and location made it suitable for both commercial hospitality and organized meetings, helping explain its importance in Boston’s civic and political life. The establishment remained a venue for public debate after the Revolutionary War. In January 1788, Boston mechanics and artisans met there and adopted resolutions supporting the importance of ratifying the Federal Constitution, then awaiting consideration by a Massachusetts convention. This episode shows that the tavern’s public role extended beyond revolutionary resistance into the constitutional period. The original building was demolished in 1832, and a warehouse was erected on the site. A commemorative plaque was installed on August 19, 1892. The Green Dragon Tavern consequently survives as a historical reference rather than as an operating historic business. A later establishment at 11 Marshall Street has used the name “new” Green Dragon Tavern, but that business is separate from the colonial-era building and organization.
- 1892
Commemorative plaque placed
[1]A plaque marking the tavern’s historical importance was installed on August 19.
- 1832
Original building demolished
[1]The historic tavern building was demolished and replaced by a warehouse.
- 1788
Constitutional resolutions adopted at the tavern
[1]Boston mechanics and artisans met at the Green Dragon and passed resolutions supporting adoption of the Federal Constitution.
- 1775
Associated with Paul Revere’s Lexington ride
[1]Paul Revere is traditionally said to have been sent from the tavern on his midnight ride to Lexington.
- 1773
Tavern associated with Boston Tea Party planning
[1]Revolutionary groups meeting at the tavern are traditionally associated with planning the Boston Tea Party.
- 1766
Freemasons acquire the property
[1]The St. Andrew’s Lodge of Freemasons purchased the property and used the upper portion for lodge meetings.
- 1743
William Douglas purchases the tavern property
[1]Physician and pamphleteer William Douglas bought the property and lived there, calling it his mansion house.
- 1701
Property inherited by Mehitable Minot Cooper
[1]Mehitable Minot Cooper inherited the property from her uncle, William Stoughton.
- 1676
Property documented under William Stoughton
[1]William Stoughton had acquired the property by a date before June 1676, establishing the earliest ownership point described in the canonical historical account.
Products and positioning
An eighteenth-century Boston public house and meeting place whose significance derives from its role in colonial sociability, Freemasonry, and revolutionary organizing rather than from a surviving commercial product line.
Brand decisions
1788
Resolutions supporting adoption of the Federal ConstitutionOtherBackground
Boston mechanics and artisans assembled at the Green Dragon while the proposed Federal Constitution was pending before a Massachusetts convention.
Action taken
The meeting adopted resolutions emphasizing the importance of ratifying the Constitution.
Aftermath
The meeting forms part of the tavern’s post-Revolutionary history as a venue for civic and constitutional debate.
Sources1 sources
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