Local student works with the Historical Society to help unearth and research the location of The Children of the Woods Tavern

Ashburnham’s Children of the Woods Tavern

The developer and proprietor of the Children of the Woods Tavern was Nathan Melven, born June 1729 in Concord, Massachusetts. He married Anna Foster in 1752 and went on to have at least 3 sons and 6 daughters with her.

In 1760, in what was then called Dorchester Canada, Nathan Melven acquired a piece of land from Moses Foster. Dorchester became the town of Ashburnham in 1765. In 1767, Nathan acquired his tavern license, and within seven years of acquiring the property, he built the tavern and got it into operation. This was the 3rd licensed tavern in this area and the first tavern licensed under the town name of Ashburnham. The tavern sat along Northfield Road, the first to run through Dorchester. The location of cellar holes indicates that within half a mile, 7 houses and a schoolhouse were located. In 1865, the tavern was destroyed, likely due to a fire. All other taverns in the area burned in 1911 from a great fire. After that, all that was left was a massive forest.

Behind the name Children of the Woods Tavern

An old story goes that a family was traveling west on Northfield Road in a stagecoach and stopped at the tavern for the night. The children ran off to play in the woods but never returned.

Today: The tavern foundation sits near where Stowell Road meets Old Pierce Road. A roughly 50-meter trail leads into the site, which in a recent project, was cleared out and made more accessible. The site is in great condition and shows a stone kitchen foundation, cellar hole, indoor well, and chimney foundation.

Our sincerest apologies for the error in the spelling of Nathan’s last name. Many thanks to the party of interest. We always welcome information that allows us to be historically accurate.