Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi)

Assembly Hall, also known as Serio House, de France House, and Fletcher's Tavern was a small tavern built in 1808 in Washington, Mississippi. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978^[1] and designated a Mississippi Landmark on March 21, 1995.^[2]

Assembly Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mississippi Landmark
Exterior of the hall
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Location	Assembly and Main Sts., Washington, Mississippi
Coordinates	31°34′45″N 91°17′52″W
Built	1808
NRHP reference No.	78001587[1]
USMS No.	001-WSH-0006-NR-X
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 19, 1978
Designated USMS	March 21, 1995[2]

History

In 1802 a political rivalry between the Democratic-Republican Party and the Federalist Party led to the relocation of Mississippi's then territorial capital. The Democrat-Republican government elected to move the capital from the Federalist-leaning Natchez, Mississippi to the more rural Washington, Mississippi; however, no capitol building was ever built. Meetings of the state's general assembly were held in the tavern, then owned by Charles de France. Upon admission of the state in 1817, the first state convention was held in the tavern, while all subsequent conventions before 1820 were held in Natchez.^[3]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "Mississippi Landmarks" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History. May 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
3. "Capitals and Capitols: The Places and Spaces of Mississippi's Seat of Government". Mississippi Historical Society. September 2003. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.