History & local legend
Stouch Tavern in Womelsdorf served travelers on the stagecoach route between Reading and Harrisburg. George Washington stayed there in 1793, and local tradition later borrowed his first name for an upstairs ghost. “George” is a tavern nickname, rather than an identification of the apparition as the president himself.
Writer Zach Brown described that tradition after visiting in 2013. A steep staircase rises near the front entrance, and stories of footsteps and doors unlatching have become part of the building’s reputation. Other retellings add a girl and a phantom carriage. An archway still leads into the tavern’s brick courtyard.
Sources
- Zach Brown, Berks County Eats, visit to Stouch Tavern and the upstairs George tradition, May 2013
- Society of Mayflower Descendants in Pennsylvania, Susquehanna Colony program recounting published Womelsdorf tavern lore
- Former tavern operator, history of the stagecoach line, Washington’s stay and images of the southeast arch
- Esri, exact West High Street address