Wooden tavern signs, hung high on posts in front of the buildings to be obvious to travelers on horseback and in carriages, were a feature of the 18th and 19th century landscape. Placed at frequent (15-20 mile) intervals along public roadways, taverns provided food and drink and often, overnight accommodations of varying degrees of quality and privacy. This sign, “A. Stratton,” identifies Arad Stratton (b.1795), the third generation of the family to keep a tavern in Northfield, Massachusetts.