We’ve got our fair share of historic bars in West Virginia, including the reportedly oldest bar in the state. But there’s one famous bar hangout in West Virginia that packs a punch in terms of history, yet it is more of a hidden local gem despite its historical significance. That bar is Fosters Main Street Tavern in Beckley, West Virginia. Its historic significance? Among other claims to fame, it was on this spot back in the mid-1800s that future U.S. Presidents William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes were headquartered during the Civil War.

Back then, what's known today as Fosters (or Foster's) Main Street Tavern was simply the Davis Cottage.
Foster's Main Street Tavern / Facebook
Davis Cottage, as in Jefferson Davis? There are rumors of an association, at least, but such rumors we can neither confirm nor deny.
Here's what we can say, though. The Davis Cottage must have been a pretty big deal no matter which Davis owned it, as it became the headquarters for two prestigious Union generals in the Civil War, men who would eventually garner even more fame as U.S. Presidents: William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes.
Foster's Main Street Tavern / Facebook
Here they dined. Here they took counsel and laid plans.
Then, in 1917, the Davis Cottage morphed into yet another historic landmark: a hardware store owned and operated by J.G. "Red" Foster. That hardware store was a local staple into the 1980s, when the building changed hands yet again, and morphed into what it is today: a historic tavern.
Foster's Main Street Tavern / Facebook

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In 1986, Foster's Main Street Tavern opened. In the decades since then, Fosters Main Street Tavern has become a popular local hangout for a good, affordable meal, some live music, and (of course) drinks in Beckley, West Virginia.
Foster's Main Street Tavern / Facebook
The menu (and the customer service) is consistent and consistently good. A wide variety of performers keep things fresh with live music throughout the year.
Foster's Main Street Tavern / Facebook
All in all, Fosters Main Street Tavern in Beckley, West Virginia is well worth adding to your West Virginia dining bucket list; the history of the spot of land on which this bar is perched only adds to its appeal!
Foster's Main Street Tavern / Facebook

Learn more at Foster’s Main Street Tavern’s website or Facebook page. Have you ever visited Fosters? Did you know the history behind this local favorite restaurant and bar hangout in Beckley, West Virginia?

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Foster's Main Street Tavern, 121 Main St, Beckley, WV 25801, USA