The original Butter's Tavern was in business for just under one hundred years- 1780 to 1878- under the ownership of Samuel Butters, a former Revolutionary War Minuteman, and then sons Samuel Jr. and Timothy. Its success as a tavern was likely hindered for two main reasons- the Temperance Reform movement which began around 1827, and the birth of the Concord Railroad in 1842 (the railroad rerouted traffic around Concord that had previously been directed into the city).
The Butter’s name earned its notoriety as a landmark inn and tavern that was frequented by the many working men who built the roads, bridges, and railroads, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, that connected Concord, NH to neighboring towns and the rest of the United States.
As was the case with many taverns of the time, Butter’s was a place for business, legislation, celebration, and the sharing of news (the equivalent of today's internet and television). Butter’s Tavern was the epicenter of a successful Concord family engrossed in the business of improving not only their personal lives but also the rapidly developing local government and community.