Built around 1785, the Humphrey Pratt Tavern in Old Saybrook was a stage stop between New York and Boston and housed Saybrook’s first post office. There is also an attached ell containing a ballroom. The Marquis de Lafayette stayed at the Tavern in 1824. Humphrey Pratt, who also built a house in 1785 for Saybrook’s minister, Frederick William Hotchkiss, was a brother of Deacon Timothy Pratt, whose house stands nearby, and the Tavern remained in the family until 1943. The building also had an adjacent general store, built in 1790, which was later moved down the street and is now the James Pharmacy and Soda Fountain.
Humphrey Pratt Tavern (1785)
Was Wm. Humphrey Pratte postmaster?
I have a letter dated August 26, 1793 from the Government Post Office in Philadelphia to Wm Humphrey Postmaster Say-Brooke for a receipt of money. No state is given. This would be during the Presidency of George Washington. In researching this letter I am trying to determine if this is Say-Brooke Conn.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Diane Frappier
Yes! Humphrey Pratt was Saybrook’s first postmaster