TUN TAVERN
The Tun Tavern was built by Samuel Carpenter in 1685 on Philadelphia's historic waterfront at Water Street and Tun Alley, near what is today known as "Penn's Landing."
It was the "First Brew House" built in Philadelphia, and among the first in the country....Its name is derived from the old English word "Tun" meaning measured cask, barrel, or keg of beer.
Several events occurred at the Tavern which are of historical significance:
* In 1720, the first meetings of the St. George's Society (forerunner of today's "Sons of the Society of St. George"), a charitable organization founded to assist needy Englishmen arriving in the new colony, were held at the Tavern.
* In 1732, the first meetings of the St. John's #1 Lodge, a Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple, were held at the Tavern. Benjamin Franklin was its third Grand Master. The Masonic Temple in Philadelphia recognizes the Tavern as the birthplace of the Masonic teachings in the U.S.
* In the early 1740's, the new proprietor expanded the tavern and renamed it "Peggy Mullan's Red Hot Beef Steak Club at Tun Tavern." It hosted George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and members of the lst and 2nd Continental Congresses.
* In 1747, the St. Andrews Society was founded in Tun Tavern, a charity for helping underprivileged Scots settle in Philadelphia.
* In 1756, Colonel Benjamin Franklin organized the Pennsylvania Militia to suppress Indian uprisings, utilizing the Tavern as a recruiting place to recruit the area's first regiment of soldiers.
* On November 10, 1775, Peggy Mullan's son Robert Mullan, now proprietor of the Tavern, was commissioned by an act of Congress to raise the first two battalions of Marines, under the leadership of Samuel Nicholas, the first appointed Commandant of the Continental Marines. Nicholas's grandfather was also a member of the Tun Tavern Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons; it is this relationship between Mullan, Nicholas and the Tavern which has resulted in Tun Tavern being acknowledged as the birthplace of the United States Marine Corps.
An estimated three million active and retired U.S. Marines worldwide have been exposed in their military training to the historical significance of Tun Tavern. Each year on November 10th, Marines around the world toast the Marine's birthplace on the most significant date in the history of the Corps.
Excerpted from http://members.tripod.com/~JHarp/history.html