The Bonnell Tavern has been a landmark in Clinton, NJ since it was established in 1768 by Colonel Abraham Bonnell. It was operated as a tavern until the 1890s. By 1770, it had become the meeting and voting place for the northern section of the county. In August of 1775 political activities at the tavern became even more important when Charles Stewart and Bonnell returned from attending the Provincial Congress of New Jersey as delegate, called a meeting of local residents at the Bonnell Tavern, and organized a regiment of “minutemen”, the first of its kind in this region of New Jersey. It was also the headquarters for the 2nd Hunterdon County Militia Regiment in which Abraham Bonnell served as a Colonel. This was the regiment which was ordered by the Provincial Congress on February 15, 1776 to march to New York under the command of Charles Stewart, by then a colonel. These patriotic militiamen soon joined forces with Major General Charles Lee. Charles Stewart later was recruited by Washington to be his commissary general of the army, in charge of all purchases for the war effort.
Despite its current under utilization, Bonnell’s Tavern is one of the most historically significant sites in New Jersey. During the Revolutionary War it was a recruiting station for militia and Continental army units and it was the headquarters and recruiting center of the first minuteman regiment in the region. The 2nd Hunterdon regiment was directed by Washington to gather the boats from Easton to Trenton. These boats were gathered to keep the British from gaining access to them in preparation for Lee’s crossing to Valley Forge, which was disrupted by his capture.
New Jersey did not officially support the Revolution until July of 1776 so Abraham Bonnell’s unit was formed illegally and he could have been arrested for treason. However, in July 1776 the new state government appointed him as the second-in-command of the New Jersey Brigade. During the war Abraham served in combat and commanded troops in the Battles of Monmouth, Millstone and Springfield. His military career is not very well documented because he was a militia officer, not a Continental Army officer.
On a lighter note, Bonnell family documents state that among the most famous patrons of the Bonnell Tavern were Aaron Burr and his daughter. They stayed at the Inn several times before he became the 3rd Vice President and prior to the famous duel with Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken, NJ.