Boone Tavern is a restaurant, hotel, and guesthouse affiliated with Berea College in Berea, Madison County, Kentucky.Boone Tavern Hotel of Berea College is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.HistoryBoone Tavern was built in 1909 to house guests of the college. It is named for early Kentucky explorer Daniel Boone. The "Tavern" portion of the name derives from the historic definition that refers to a public inn for travelers rather than the modern definition related to the sale of alcoholic beverages.Construction of Boone Tavern began in 1907 based on designs by the New York architectural firm of Cady & See. The building was built with bricks manufactured by students in the college's brickyard and was constructed by the College's Woodwork Department at a total cost of $20,000.Located on the College Square in the heart of Berea where the old Dixie Highway crossed the campus, the hotel and restaurant became a popular destination with the traveling public from the beginning of the "automobile age." In the 1930s the establishment was featured in Duncan Hines' Adventures in Good Eating guidebooks. Under the direction of Richard T. Hougen, who headed the restaurant for 35 years beginning in 1940 and published three cookbooks, Boone Tavern established a reputation for fine Southern cooking.