To Horace Havemeyer, Jr., old-house restoration was a science. He brought in a team of archaeologists when he bought the ColonialWhite Swan Tavern to help return it to its 18th-century appearance. A dig at the rear of the brick building unearthed clay pipes and mugs and a Pennsylvania-flagstone tavern yard. Today, the room that was the original kitchen, to the right of this patio area and shaded by a giant elm, is the inn’s most requested guest room. Its rough ceiling beams, brick floor, and large fireplace attest to its antiquity and make it an eminently cozy place to sleep. The chambers in the tavern’s main section are more formal, with stately wing chairs, canopy beds, and paneled walls. In the years since its renovation the White Swan has become a Kent County landmark, popular for its daily tea. Its enviable High Street location puts guests within walking distance of shops, an old-fashioned movie theater, the Con-federate Monument on the green, a small park on the banks of the Chester River, and two god places to eat—the Iron-stone Café and the fancy Hotel Imperial Restaurant.
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