Historically considered, no other tavern on the line possessed so much
of antiquarian interest as Hatch's. It occupied the site of an old
garrison built and occupied by John Woodcock, the famous Indian fighter,
as a stronghold against the attacks of his red foes. He went thither
from the Providence Plantation about the middle of the seventeenth
century, when the town was an unbroken wilderness in the northern part
of the Rehoboth North Purchase, so called, took up his abode and reared
his family in lonely solitude within the close stockades he planted
around his home. The first house that went by the name of Hatch's Tavern
was built upon this old garrison, which, indeed, formed a part of its
very walls, and not until the proprietor found it necessary to erect a
new and larger house, when the turnpike was opened, did the last
vestiges of the Woodcock stronghold disappear.

The landlord of this inn, Colonel Israel Hatch, was also a man of
importance in his time, who enjoyed an enviable reputation for military
achievements, and was very prominent in public affairs. At no point on
the line was the traveler surer of a larger hospitality or a heartier
welcome than was extended by Colonel Hatch, though its best room, which
was reserved for visitors of note, might not have contained the
veritable inscription ascribed to Major Molineaux:--

"What do you think?
Here is good drink.
Perhaps you may not know it;
If not in haste, do stop and taste;
You merry folks will show it."

On leaving North Attlebourogh, the remaining twelve miles to Providence