The Pennsylvania Restaurant That's Been A Part Of Major History More Than Once

Pennsylvania is a state so rich in history that you can hardly swing an Allegheny woodrat without hitting some site where a significant event took place. A surprising number of historic sites are bars or restaurants, too. These include a Philadelphia prison-turned-tourist attraction that features its own beer garden, another Philadelphia bar where the Founding Fathers tied one on for the first Fourth of July, and a Gettysburg tavern that once served as a Civil War field hospital. Quakertown, a smallish city about 50 miles north of Philadelphia, also boasts a restaurant where history was made. At McCoole's Tavern, this happened not once, but several times.

Quakertown itself wasn't established until 1801, but McCoole's dates back to the 1740s. Its first brush with history was in 1799 when it served as a gathering place for plotters of Fries's Rebellion. This event (which had nothing to do with protesting potatoes) was an uprising of German farmers angry about being taxed. (They lost, but were later pardoned by President Adams.) Many decades later, Coole's would again be involved in the events of the day by reportedly serving as an Underground Railroad station. Tunnels that were allegedly used for smuggling the enslaved to freedom remain below the inn.

McCoole's also has an interesting anecdote from the 20^th century: It was a favorite hangout of Eric Knight, author of the 1940 novel "Lassie Come Home" that inspired a classic TV series. (The one where little Timmy, contrary to popular opinion, never once fell into a well.) Knight's collie, the original "Lassie," would accompany him to McCoole's; today, spots where she dribbled her steak on the floor are said to still be visible.

Needless to say, McCoole's has changed quite a bit over the years (as do we all). It was actually in pretty rough shape by the turn of the 21^st century, but the new owners who took over in 2003 put in a lot of work to restore the establishment now known as McCoole's at the Historic Red Lion Inn. Not only does it still serve as a restaurant, but it also annexed a former livery stable-turned-theater and transformed that into an event space for banquets, meetings, and weddings. The complex also hosts happenings such as poetry slams, ghost-hunting investigations (of course, McCoole's is haunted!), and dinner with a spiritual medium. Three nights a week, the restaurant offers movie screenings along with a prix fixe menu.

We don't know what was on McCoole's menu back in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, but these days it runs to upscale bar food. There are no fewer than six gourmet burgers, with toppings ranging from boursin and bacon to wild mushrooms, gorgonzola, and hot honey. There's also a crab cake sandwich (Pennsylvania does border Maryland, after all), along with soups, salads, and entrees like chicken parmesan, fish and chips, and steaks that probably cost quite a bit more than the ones Lassie lunched on. The tavern menu features trendy bites including charcuterie, mac and cheese, and roasted Brussels sprouts, along with a half-dozen house-made draft beers and ciders on tap. In true tavern tradition, there are numerous other beers, wines, hard seltzers, cocktails, and mocktails. Even if historical events are no longer occurring on the regular, McCoole's seems to have plenty of satisfied customers.