the death of the fox

The Death of the Fox Inn was built in Clarksboro, East Greenwich Township, New Jersey in 1727.  It came by it's name in the course of honest business—providing drink and sustenance to members of the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club after their hunts.  The Gloucester Fox Hunting Club was founded in 1766 at a coffeehouse by a group of Philadelphia gentlemen and was the first organized hunting club in the New World!

The Death of the Fox Inn as it appeared in 1938, when  photographed for the National Historic Society by Nathanial Ewan.

The Death of the Fox Inn as it appeared in 1938, when  photographed for the National Historic Society by Nathanial Ewan.

The club flourished from 1766 to 1818, as did the Death of the Fox Inn. During the Revolutionary War, the inn was used as a recruiting center and military headquarters. Some of the more grisly history of the inn is associated with the hanging of a Tory from a walnut tree nearby. The building was a popular inn housing many a weary traveler for the next hundred years through the early 20th century.  It still stands today, beautifully renovated back to it's original state by private homeowners.   Our company respects the history of this important landmark, and proudly restores it's adventurous spirit to the modern era. 

PLEASE NOTE: The Death of the Fox Inn is a historic landmark and also a private residence. Our brewery is NOT located at this landmark, and we ask you please respect the homeowner's privacy.  

Please pay a visit our location at The Villages of Whiskey Mill as we highlight this intriguing history in our new taproom.

For a more in depth history of the Inn, click here.  

1821 tavern license petition for the Death of the Fox Tavern

*Iage courtesy of the Gloucester County Historical Society

All Roads Lead to Death of the Fox... 

An image of a Revolutionary War Era Map from February 1777 detailing the Camden/Gloucester County Area.   The Death of the Fox is located in lower right corner! Courtesy of WestJerseyHistory.org and The Library of Congress- http://www…

An image of a Revolutionary War Era Map from February 1777 detailing the Camden/Gloucester County Area.   The Death of the Fox is located in lower right corner! 

Courtesy of WestJerseyHistory.org and The Library of Congress- http://www.westjerseyhistory.org/maps/revwarmaps/index11.shtml

“THE DEATH OF THE FOX”

In boyhood’s days, I tried to unfold,
The wonderful story that was told
By the rusty old sign that hung so high,
To catch the eye of the passer by;
Winds high or low, it kept swinging there,
Swinging - whether the days were rough or fair,
If winds blew high, ‘twould creak, creak, creak,
If winds blew low, ‘twould be a faint squeak.

It hung there on the King’s Highway,
It had hung there for many a day
To tell the traveller dusty and grim,
That the hostelrie would shelter him.

On it’s old hinges, rusty and worn,
From dewey eve till rosy morn,
Whether the night was mild or bleak
Might be heard a faint little squeak,
Or a grating groaning creak, creak, creak.

Many old things have passed away,
Some are useless, gone to decay,
Some of them we do forget,
But The “Death of the Fox”, not yet.

Of the picture’s meaning we have not told.
But this to you we’ll now unfold;
The painting on its rusty old face
Showed us the end of a long fox chase.

Shy reynard’s death was pictured there,
The unequal struggle seems unfair;
Man and horse and yelping hound
Had scoured the country round and round,
Ridden ‘till almost out of breath
To compass one poor fox’s death.

O’ rusty old sign even as I speak
I seem to hear thy creak, creak, creak,
Thou hast not faded from memory yet,
The “Death of the Fox” I’ll never forget.”
— Written by Daniel Pine of Woodbury in the Late 1800's

The original 1821 tavern license petition for the Death of the Fox

*Image courtesy of the Gloucester County Historical Society