Built by Charles Washington around 1760 as his home, this frame building became a tavern in 1792, operating in the bustling town of Fredericksburg.

The Tap Room features a reconstructed bar cage and fine collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English and American pewter. Another spacious room provided a space for meetings and private dinners by patrons of the tavern.

"Tavern Wenches" provide visitors with a lively interpretation of eighteenth-century tavern life. The tavern is filled with period furnishings and stories of early life in Fredericksburg.

The APVA acquired Rising Sun Tavern in 1907. A complete restoration took place in the 1930s. Much of the woodwork in the tavern is original.