History Around Us: Pawling’s Tavern – Ground Zero of the Black Boys Rebellion

On March 5, 1765, a single moment at a remote frontier tavern set off nine months of armed resistance against British authority — a full decade before the American Revolution.

Henry Pawling Sr. and the Tavern

Henry Pawling Sr. arrived in Antrim Township in the early 1740s. He purchased land and built a log home that he opened as a tavern at the northeast corner of today’s Williamsport Pike and Milnor Road, south of Greencastle. The tavern became a vital stop for pack trains heading west and earned a reputation as the last safe haven on the frontier.

Henry Pawling Sr. married Mary Hicks. They had a son, Henry Pawling Jr., and a daughter, Eleanor. He died in 1761. His son, Henry Pawling Jr., took over the tavern, replaced the log building with a stone structure, and continued operating it for many years. Henry Jr. died in 1794.

Henry Pawling Sr. is buried in Brown’s Mill Cemetery (also known as Brown’s Mill Presbyterian Cemetery) in Antrim Township. His grave is the oldest marked burial in the cemetery, located near the historic Brown’s Mill School close to the intersection of Brown’s Mill Road and Angle Road.

The Spark of Rebellion

On March 5, 1765, George Croghan’s large pack train carrying rum, gunpowder, tomahawks, and scalping knives stopped at Pawling’s Tavern. While the goods were being transferred from wagons to 81 pack horses, a package broke open, spilling what appeared to be scalping knives. This incident outraged local settlers still recovering from Pontiac’s War and directly triggered the Black Boys Rebellion.

The very next day, James Smith and his men attacked the train at Sideling Hill. The events that began at Pawling’s Tavern eventually led to multiple confrontations and the siege of Fort Loudoun.

Today, almost nothing remains of the original tavern — just a few foundation stones near the intersection of Williamsport Pike and Milnor Road. Yet its role as the flashpoint of one of the earliest acts of armed colonial resistance makes it historically significant.

Research assisted by historical archives and period accounts.

Stay safe, Bob.