It was saved from destruction in 1934 by Lanier Richardson Billups of Decatur, Georgia, who deeded it to the State in 1956. It has two rooms upstairs and two rooms downstairs.
Separate doors lead into the two rooms on the first floor.
One door enters the tavern, the other a store or trading area. This part of the Tavern was built in the first decades of the 1800's when Watkinsville was a growing frontier town, the County Seat of original Clarke County, and the crossroads of travel northward from Madison and Greensboro. In 1836 Richard C. Richardson bought and, over a period of years, made additions to the original tavern, stage-stop, and store. A Georgia Historical Commission historic site dedicated May 21, 1966. This page has been accessed times from sites outside the Institute since December 12, 1999.