A circa-1785 tavern where a young woman died in Room 8 in 1816 after swearing bystanders to secrecy about her identity — her unmarked stone reads only 'Female Stranger.'
134 N Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
$4 per person general admission. Free for Alexandria residents and active military. Guided tours available at 1:15, 2:15, and 3:15 PM daily.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic multi-story tavern building. Ground floor accessible; upper floors via stairs.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1785 · Site of George Washington's final Birthnight Ball, 1798 · Central social and political venue of early Federal-era Alexandria · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The Gadsby's Tavern complex consists of two adjoining buildings on North Royal Street: a smaller Georgian-style tavern constructed around 1785, and the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel, one of the most prominent public accommodations in early Federal-era Alexandria. John Gadsby leased and operated both buildings from 1796 to 1808, and his name has remained associated with the complex.
The tavern was a centerpiece of Alexandria's social, economic, and political life during the early republic. George Washington attended the last of his Birthnight Balls at the tavern in 1798 and dined there on his final military inspection tour. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe all visited during the Federal period. The tavern served as a polling place, a venue for public meetings, and a commercial hub for the busy Potomac port town.
By 1878 the building had acquired a hotel addition and passed through multiple commercial uses before falling into disrepair. The City of Alexandria acquired and restored both buildings, reopening them as a public museum in 1976. Today Gadsby's Tavern Museum is administered by the city and offers guided and self-guided tours. The adjacent 138 North Royal Street building continues to operate as Gadsby's Tavern Restaurant.
Sources
The Female Stranger arrived in Alexandria in the fall of 1816 aboard a ship said to have come from the West Indies. She was accompanied by a man who presented himself as her husband. They took Room 8 at Gadsby's City Tavern, and a Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick was called to attend her illness.
As she lay dying, according to the account first published in Alexandria newspapers approximately fifty years after the event, she required everyone present to swear that they would never reveal her name or speak of the couple to anyone. She died on October 14, 1816, at approximately age 23. Her husband paid her burial expenses, commissioned the substantial tomb monument still standing in St. Paul's Cemetery, and left Alexandria. He was never traced.
The inscription on her tomb reads: 'To the memory of a Female Stranger whose mortal sufferings terminated on the 14th day of October 1816 Aged 23 years and 45 days. This stone is placed here by her disconsolate husband in whose arms she sighed out her latest breath and who under God did his utmost even to soothe the cold dead ear of death.'
The identity of the woman has generated speculation for two centuries, ranging from a runaway noblewoman to a spy to a murder victim. No documentary evidence has surfaced to confirm any of the proposed identities.
Her ghost is described as appearing in the windows of the tavern holding a candle and wandering the interior at night. At the annual Birthnight Ball — held in the tavern to recreate Washington-era celebrations, where guests dress in 18th-century clothing — multiple accounts describe a pale, dark-haired woman in 19th-century dress standing apart from the group before disappearing.
Notable Entities
A 45-minute guided tour through the ca. 1785 tavern and the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel. Explores how Gadsby's Tavern shaped early American civic life, including visits to Room 8 where the Female Stranger died in 1816. Tours depart at 1:15, 2:15, and 3:15 PM daily.
Explore the exhibit galleries, including the current 'Women in Business: We Were Always Here' exhibit running through March 2027. Room 8 is accessible during museum hours.
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