Taverns such as Aspden's were centers of commercial and social life, and in the increasing tensions between the British Empire, represented by Loyalists, and the Patriots, forums for heated debate that put the lives of both those arguing and the owners of such places in jeopardy.

As tensions peaked because of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the tavern's owner, Mathias Aspden, Jr., had gone to England for his education and returned a staunch Loyalist.

He was tried and convicted of treason in absentia; his properties in southwestern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania were seized and sold, with the profits going into the Continental Treasury.

Haddonfield residents gathered frequently at the tavern; Redman, who was also the clerk for the local Friends Meeting, was required to read publicly documents that included the sect's pacifist refusal to become combatants.

Because of this, in January 1777 Redman was arrested and charged with sedition by an officer of the Continental Army, and jailed in Woodbury, the county seat at that time.

Creighton's old tavern was named the "Indian King" Tavern by its original owner, Sarah Norris, in deference to Lenape Native Americans who had cared for the newly immigrated and poorly equipped European settlers; it was subsequently taken over by Mary French, a widow who later married Creighton.

While the essential parts of the original structure remain, its interior accessories were created by reproduction craftsmen because of budgetary requirements.