Transport yourself to an 18th-century casino at Chowning’s Tavern
On a cold winter night some time ago, in the quiet week between Christmas and New Years, I found myself walking down a quiet gravel street in Virginia, not too far from Norfolk. The air smelled of woodsmoke and the pine-and-dried-fruit wreaths residents of the street had hung on their doors. Here and there, you could see the glow of bonfires, with families standing by them, enjoying the warmth and light.
Finally, I came to my destination — what looked like a sizable wooden house, with a sign on the door and lights twinkling inside. I knocked, and a woman in a long skirt took my name from a list and welcomed me and my party inside.
Inside felt like the exact opposite of the street I’d just walked down — crowded where it had been empty, noise and warmth where there had been cold and quiet. Drinks from seemingly ancient recipes were being poured; not just hot chocolate and tea, but hot toddies, hot buttered rum, and even something you might call “grog.” And everywhere I looked, people were trying their hands at cards, dice, and games I’d never seen before.
Where was I? Well, one answer could be that I was in a casino — a casino in 1776, that is.
Virginians may have recognized that the street I described in this little scene was Duke of Gloucester Street, in Colonial Williamsburg. And the “casino” that was so lively on a winter’s night was none other than Chowning’s Tavern, a historic tavern painstakingly recreated to serve contemporary clientele.
Chowning’s Tavern: What you need to know
Chowning’s Tavern has been offering up food, drink, and a look at the surroundings middle-class Virginians would have dined in during the eighteenth century for over 50 years, as of 2024. And on winter evenings, you can wander in to try your hand at “Gambols,” or gambling, colonial-style.
No actual money is at stake, but guests of all ages can bet tokens on games that seem familiar (shut-the-box, anyone?), or require some unusual skills, like a knowledge of Roman numerals, which your server will be happy to explain to you. I couldn’t resist a hot buttered rum, served in a proper tankard, while I played, which was sweet, tangy, and went down dangerously easy.
Non-drinkers will find plenty of non-alcoholic options, and light snacks are also available.
After a few rounds of various games, the second attraction arrived. A strolling musician, who sang authentic eighteenth-century music with the occasional modern pun tossed in, kept the atmosphere going.
Although you wouldn’t expect a historic casino to necessarily be a great place for kids, the tavern and the event were very family friendly, and kids in the tavern enjoyed suggesting different animals for the rhyming couplets in one of the musician’s songs.
It should be noted that the offerings at Chowning’s are seasonal, and Gambols may not be on the menu when you visit. In the high season (summer), Chowning’s is lunch-only, although you might catch a strolling musician with your sandwich. In the warmer evenings, you may have to try your luck at Christiana Campbell’s, where the oysters were reportedly a favorite of none other than George Washington himself.
But if you make it to Chowning’s Tavern — or, frankly, any Colonial Williamsburg tavern — you can expect an experience unlike any other. It can be even more fun if you get into character; at Chowning’s, it takes only a small slip of the imagination to be a roguish sailor just arrived in town or a fiery patriot, while at the elegant King’s Arms, you might pretend you’re a loyalist, shocked at all these whispers against King George you’ve heard on the streets.
Whatever you choose, keeping your sense of play, both in the actual games and with the experience as a whole, can lead to a sense of wonder. Lifting your tankard and belting out a song, downing an oyster over a conversation about what that General Washington might do next — these things belong to another time, but it’s easy to slip in for a moment.
You’re still in Virginia — in fact, you’re steeped in its earliest days — but you’re simultaneously somewhere far, far away.
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