In fact, some of our favourite Maitland pubs even held law courts and even had autopsies performed in them.

These are some of the interesting bursts of history that people will learn at Maitland Regional Museum's newest exhibition, Raise Your Glass.

The exhibition, located at Brough House, is celebrating the history of Maitland's Inns and Taverns.

President Dr Janece McDonald said there had been overwhelming positive feedback from visitors to the exhibit.

"It is a series of panels telling the stories of many of the early inns and taverns ... We've tried to do the stories in an interesting way whether that's the publicans or where it was," Dr McDonald said.

"We wanted to bring out details that people didn't know about their local pubs because many are still here today such as the Queen's Arms, Belmore and Caledonian.

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"With the exception of the Grand Junction, the Bradford, the George and Tenambit Regal Inn, all of them go back to the 1800s.

"Each pub has an amazing history whether its the person who built it, the publican, what happened there or people who went there."

People will learn the stories of their favourite pubs and how the rise and fall of the numerous inns and taverns mirrored Maitland's rise and fall as the second city outside the Cumberland Plain in the 1800s.

Some of the anecdotes include the vanishing publican as well as a visit from the Prince of Wales.

"One of the interesting things is there were so many women publicans and they couldn't become a publican unless they were married or widows," Dr McDonald said.

"A lot of their husband's had pre-deceased them and their hotels became known as their names such as Mrs Fry's Establishment or Mrs Williamson's Pub.

"We've also got a story about disappearing publican and that's all I will say so people can come and find out what happened."

People can visit Raise Your Glass on Saturdays and Sundays and will run until May 29.