The Old Talbott Tavern was built in 1779, a year before the settlement of Salem (later renamed Bardstown) began, making it the "oldest western stagecoach stop" still in operation.

George Rogers Clark used it as a resource base during the end of the American Revolutionary War; Daniel Boone stayed here, and the exiled Louis-Philippe of France, stayed at the tavern on October 17, 1797, with a member of his entourage painting murals that were rediscovered in the 20th century and were on display until the 1998 fire.

[4][5] Visitors in the 19th century included future presidents Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Abraham Lincoln.

Other prominent figures who visited the tavern were Henry Clay, the inventor of steamboats John Fitch, environmentalist John James Audubon, songwriter Stephen Foster, and Jesse James, who is said to have been the cause of the bullet holes in the murals as he was drunk and shooting at the birds in the tree on the mural.

[12] It has been featured on Food Network and Travel Channel, and was once ranked the 13th most haunted inn in the United States.

The original tavern consisted of the present eastern section, built of stone walls two feet thick and heavy ceiling timbers, with two separate fireplaces to cook the food.