Mowry lived in Salem between 1636 and 1649, with his wife Mary, the eldest daughter of John Johnson of Roxbury.

In 1637, Mowry acquired 50 acres (0.20 km2) of land some two miles from the Salem settlement and built his house on the lot which was to be the corner of Essex and Flint Street.

Robert A. Geake's book Historic Taverns of Rhode Island suggests it may have been the work of William Carpenter and the mason John Smith.

[2] By the late 19th century the house had been greatly altered, but the original structure was restored by Robert Isham.

[5] Roger Mowry's Tavern was reportedly the site of civil rally to free a man taken prisoner by a Massachusetts constable.

The citizens summoned the town council, and a messenger was sent to the Massachusetts constable to demand by what authority he held his prisoner.

[1] Another story surrounding the tavern was the murder of John Clawson, a Dutch carpenter, who was found dying one December morning in 1661.

[5] Upon Mowry's death, his wife retained the house until selling it to Stephen Paine on September 5, 1671.

[2] The Mowry Tavern was allegedly one of only five buildings not burned by the Indians during King Philip's War.

It is believed that it was spared because Roger Williams, a friend of the Indians, held Christian worship services in the building.