Where New Jersey Became a State

By Linda Tancs

New Jersey’s first state-owned historic site, Indian King Tavern Museum in downtown Haddonfield is where New Jersey completed its transition from colony to state. The year was 1777, and the newly formed New Jersey Legislature met in this public house and tavern to discuss matters of state, including changing the colony’s official designation. The tavern’s original owner named it “Indian King” in deference to Lenape Native Americans who had cared for the arriving European settlers. Open to the public, the site regularly hosts school tours and lectures.